Manchester City made a secret transfer request to Chelsea earlier this year, it has been revealed.
Both clubs were particular active in the transfer window prior to it closing on 1 September, with Chelsea continuing to splash the cash after embarking on quite the spending spree in their first two windows under owner Todd Boehly.
But it's emerged that the Blues received a surprise proposal from City in the January transfer window over left-back Marc Cucurella.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims City presented a loan with an option to buy the Spaniard, who they were chasing in the summer window.
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In the end, City were put off by Brighton's £62 million asking price and walked away from a potential deal.
With no left-back replacement for Oleksandr Zinchenko, the Premier League champions are said to have tried to tempt Chelsea into offloading him in the middle of the season but their approach was rejected.
Cucurella endured a tough first season at Chelsea and looked like he might be on the way to Manchester United on loan in the most recent window after Luke Shaw's injury was revealed to be worse than feared.
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However, the former Getafe man played for Chelsea in the Carabao Cup against AFC Wimbledon and would therefore be unable to play in the competition for United.
That deterred the Red Devils, who instead acquired Spurs left-back Sergio Reguilon for the season on deadline day.
But according to Romano, Cucurella did have a number of offers on the table in the summer. In his native Spain, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Sevilla were interested in a loan, as were RB Leipzig and Chelsea's west London rivals Fulham - who launched a late move that was ultimately unsuccessful.
Cucurella was only keen on the United switch and so has decided to stay put at Chelsea, where he has made 34 appearances.
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Chelsea, Manchester City, Mateo Kovacic, Cole Palmer, Marc Cucurella