The agent of West Ham midfielder Mohammed Kudus admits an agreement with Chelsea was in place over the summer.
Kudus, 23, left Ajax for West Ham for a fee of 43m, including bonuses.
But the player's agent Jennifer Mendelewitsch has revealed the destination could have been Chelsea instead.
"We reached an agreement with Chelsea, we agreed on the contract with Chelsea but the deal did not go through. He spoke to the coach but in the end it didn't happen because Chelsea sent a ridiculous offer to Ajax," Mendelewitsch told RMC.
"There was no counter offer. Chelsea did this with many players this summer, submitted very low bids to clubs knowing they would not be accepted. The truth is that they were completely focused on the signing of (Moises) Caicedo - which absorbed all their energy.
According to reports, Chelsea's bid was 17 million. Kudus was also linked with Paris Saint-Germain.
"He wanted to leave but there weren't 50,000 clubs that needed a midfielder and could afford him," saids Mendelewitsch.
"Of course we offered his profile to PSG, then it was the club's choice not to proceed. Each club has the right to decide that they go to a different profile or that it is not their priority."