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Anthony Martial rejected Chelsea in favour of Manchester United in the summer transfer window.

Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev stated this week another European club lodged a late bid for the 19-year-old striker and M.E.N. Sport can reveal it was Premier League champions Chelsea.

The Stamford Bridge club was keen to agree a deal for Martial before the September 2 deadline, with the teenager remaining in France for another year.

Martial, whose £36m fee could rise up to £58m, instead chose United and has scored four goals in six games since his deadline day move to United, including an unforgettable debut clincher against Liverpool, and helped propel The Reds up into the Premier League top two.

“There was another club that offered even more than United,” Vasilyev said earlier this week.

“I will not say how much, but the fixed price, without variables, it was even better. And also they offered us to have him for a further year in Monaco.

“But the boy wanted to go to Manchester, it was his dream. And we let him go with the bonus of €30m. Had it not been for so much money, he’d have stayed.”

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Chelsea are languishing in 16th and have already lost four league games, while manager Jose Mourinho has had to do without his irascible first-choice striker Diego Costa, recently suspended for three domestic games, and neither United flop Radamel Falcao nor Loic Remy have deputised effectively.

Martial's decision to join United is belated payback after Sir Alex Ferguson saw a raft of exciting young players join Chelsea instead of them during the Roman Abramovich era.

A 19-year-old Arjen Robben was pictured in the back of a 4X4 pulling into United's Carrington training complex in January 2004.

"We are interested in him - nothing's been finalised but we are hoping to do business with PSV Eindhoven," Ferguson said.

United bid £5m and were gazumped by nouveaux riche Chelsea, who bought Robben for £12m two months later.

"United were first in the queue so we kept Chelsea waiting," then-PSV chairman Harry van Raaij said.

"But when we had our second discussion with United over a fee, we were very disappointed over how low they believed they could push us."

United could not compete with The Blues for Michael Essien, who would have joined The Reds but for work permit delays in 2001, a year later, either.

During that 2005 summer, John Obi Mikel signed a contract with United, yet a month later stated his desire to play for Chelsea.

The Nigerian controversially signed for Chelsea in 2006 and United received £12m as part of the settlement.

And, most recently, Eden Hazard opted to sign for Chelsea over United and Manchester City in 2012.