Manchester United chief Ed Woodward chose not to compete with Chelsea for Kai Havertz due to their focus on Jadon Sancho.
Havertz moved to Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen last week for a fee of £70m.
The Manchester Evening News says United did contemplate Havertz at one point - but refused to go after him because of their interest in Borussia Dortmund star Sancho.
The Red Devils have spent the last three years tracking the forward, with Jose Mourinho missing out on the England international during the player's time at Manchester City.
And United opted to pursue Sancho rather than rivalling Chelsea for Havertz.
