Manchester United tried to scupper Chelsea’s £30m deal for Liam Delap by issuing a warning to the striker over his move to Stamford Bridge.
Delap signed a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge at the start of the summer after Chelsea activated his £30m release clause.
The former Manchester City forward was available for that relatively small fee after Ipswich Town were relegated from the Premier League.
Chelsea beat Manchester United, Newcastle United and Everton to a deal for the England U21 star, who is yet to open his account for the Blues.
Ruben Amorim viewed Delap as a suitable and cheap addition to his squad at Old Trafford but the 22-year-old favoured a move to Stamford Bridge.
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According to The Athletic, Delap made that decision despite being warned by Manchester United that Joao Pedro was also heading to Chelsea, leading to major competition in west London.
As United predicted, Chelsea soon paid £60m to sign Pedro and it was the ex-Brighton star who started the Blues’ opening Premier League game of the season.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca started both Delap and Pedro in the 5-1 thrashing over West Ham and last weekend’s 2-0 derby win over Fulham.
But Delap only lasted 14 minutes against Fulham before suffering a worrying hamstring injury that Maresca expects to rule him out for ‘six to eight weeks’.
Chelsea considering blocking Nicolas Jackson’s transfer exit following Delap’s injury setback but eventually agreed to sanction his deadline-day move to Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, Delap’s move to Stamford Bridge eventually led Manchester United to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig in deal worth £74m.
Sesko has endured a subdued start to his Old Trafford career, going four games without a goal, but is playing in a poor United team.
Explaining why his son decided to join Chelsea ahead of several other clubs, ex-Premier League star Rory Delap said last month: ‘Liam is really enjoying his time at Chelsea.
‘We watched a lot of the Club World Cup games in America and although we weren’t too sure about it at the start, it really grew in the later rounds and was a good competition.
‘The biggest thing for us is that Chelsea didn’t just go there to take part, they went there to win it.
‘That mentality suits Liam down to the ground because he wants to win trophies and be successful – that’s why he joined Chelsea.
‘Thankfully, he’s already won one early on, but hopefully there’s a lot more to come.
‘Liam has had a couple of moves already so he’s used to that process. It’s tough moving to a new club, no matter what standard you’re playing at.
‘But Chelsea were brilliant throughout the whole process, making him feel welcome and wanted.
‘Liam knows he’s going to have to compete for his place in the team and make it his own – he’s under no illusions about that.
‘That said, he’s confident in himself and we just hope both Chelsea and Liam can have a successful together.’
The player himself, meanwhile, said after moving to Stamford Bridge: ‘The most important thing for me last summer was going somewhere where I could play a lot of minutes.
‘That was the opportunity I felt I needed, to go and express myself and show the player I am. Ipswich gave me that opportunity, which was so important, and I’m very grateful for that.’
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