The Toffees were set to land the 23-year-old in January but pulled out of the deal after problems with the player’s medical.
And McClaren, who managed Fer during his second spell in the Eredivisie, admitted the Holland international’s desire to leave contributed significantly to his own departure from De Grolsch Veste in February.
"I think one of the main reasons Twente and I were on a little bit of a dip in February and resulted in me leaving was because we were selling one of the players who I thought was perfect for the Premier League, Leroy Fer," McClaren told Yahoo!
"That fell through for medical reasons and it was a hindrance to us because he was very disappointed not to get the move and that had a big impact on our team."
And McClaren, who lasted a little more than a year at Twente after returning in January 2012, believes the Premier League can learn a thing or two from its Dutch counterparts when it comes to player production.
"We also had a centre-half called Douglas, who many Premier League teams have been chasing for a long time; Nacer Chadli also,” said the former England manager.
"There are good players in Holland who are technically and tactically gifted that are knowledgeable about the game - they could adapt to English football.
"One of the key things I took from Holland was how to develop young players. English players are well known for their physicality and mentality but I think we need to add that technical and tactical aspect if we are to develop our game as well.”
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