Manchester United reportedly rejected Romeo Lavia as part of the deal to sell Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea in the summer.
The Red Devils offloaded Garnacho for £40million in August after the winger fell out of favour under Ruben Amorim.
But apparently Chelsea were willing to hand over Lavia and receive less cash, according to ESPN.
United are said to have snubbed the 21-year-old midfielder because of worries about his fitness record.
That’s despite the fact that United’s recruitment team had acknowledged they wanted a central midfielder. In the end, Bruno Fernandes has been shifted back from his No 10 role into the middle of the park alongside Casemiro.
Lavia’s time at Stamford Bridge has been blighted by injuries.
Man United reportedly rejected the offer of Romeo Lavia when selling Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea over the summer
Lavia has struggled with injuries and fitness issues since signing for the London giants
He has yet to complete a full 90 minutes in two-and-a-half years and missed a total of 88 games due to injury and fitness problems.
The Belgian is out again at the moment for around a month with a quadriceps injury.
He suffered the blow just four minutes into Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the Champions League earlier this month.
The Blues signed him for £58million from Southampton in the summer of 2023, handing him a seven-year deal, but injury troubles limited him to one appearance that campaign.
Garnacho has already managed to rack up a third of Lavia’s appearances total for Chelsea, having made 10 outings.
The Argentinian is yet to hit his best form but has got on the scoresheet a couple of times and forced his way into a starting position under Enzo Maresca.
And he is looking a valuable buy. He set up two of their three goals against Wolves – the first time he has managed a brace of assists in a Premier League game.
He set up Malo Gusto for Chelsea’s first, Pedro Neto for their third, and was a source of positivity throughout this performance.
Garnacho was part of Ruben Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ at United and fell out with the fans
The 21-year-old is determined to make the most of his time in west London after being added to Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ at United, where his relationship with the club and fans deteriorated.
‘I think it was a difficult moment there, just training alone,’ Garnacho said during an interview with TNT after Chelsea’s win over Benfica in September. ‘But I’ve got nothing bad to say about my old club Manchester United.
‘There are just bad moments in life… I’m very happy to be here now, play in this competition and get three points today.’
Garnacho has already returned to Old Trafford this season, but as an unused substitute during Chelsea’s chaotic 2-1 defeat by the hosts in September.
Rather than receive a cordial welcome, Garnacho was targeted with chants during his warm-ups, and boos throughout the contest.
As Garnacho warmed up ahead of kick off, United fans could be heard singing: ‘Who’s that t*** from Argentina? Who’s that money-grabbing w**re?
‘Garnacho is his name and he hasn’t got a brain and he won’t be winning trophies anymore!’
The song continued throughout the first half of the game. It was the same chant that United fans targeted Carlos Tevez with when he swapped United for Manchester City in 2009 in a £47m deal.
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Named: The £58m Chelsea star who Man United ‘REJECTED when offered him in Alejandro Garnacho swap deal’