Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath's agent Matthias Veneroso has confirmed the Blues made an offer for his player on deadline day.
It was known that Town were keen on the 25-year-old Ivorian on the final day of the transfer window after their loan move for Chelsea’s Armando Broja had broken down due to the achilles injury which emerged in the Albanian international’s medical, but with Boro making it clear he wasn’t for sale.
After his Blues switch had briefly appeared to be back on, Broja eventually joined Everton on loan in the closing minutes of the window.
Town were ultimately to add another striker, meaning Ali Al-Hamadi remained at Portman Road with a loan move to Derby County having been on the table for the Iraqi international.
The Blues are understood to have made a £20 million offer for Latte Lath, which was turned down as as Boro felt they would be unable to replace him before that evening’s deadline.
Due to the interest, Latte Lath didn’t travel with the rest of his teammates for the following day’s game at Cardiff, but Veneroso says that wasn’t as his player was agitating for a move, as was rumoured at the time.
"We were always aligned with the club,” he told Teesside Live. "There was no urgency to sell the player in the summer, from the club or ourselves.
"Of course, after scoring 18 goals last season, there was expectation for some offers. But we always wanted to keep the same strategy together with the club.
"There were some conversations earlier in the window, but it was always clear that it would have to be special, for the player and the club, to be even considered.
"Of course, on the last day, Ipswich made the big offer. It was a strange time because it was such a big offer that needed consideration from everyone. That’s ultimately why he couldn’t travel to Cardiff with the rest of team.
"But, in the end, the club decided that they could not sell the player because they couldn’t face the season with just one striker. That was the club’s final decision.
"I think it showed how committed Emmanuel is that he straight away wanted to travel to Cardiff and be with his team-mates because he wanted to play his part and help his team win.
"I think that was a good signal where he said, ‘I am here and I want to perform for Middlesbrough’. There were never any problems with anyone at the club.”
Latte Lath has scored four goals this season, three in his last five games, and Veneroso admits the start of the season wasn’t an easy spell for his player.
"I’m delighted to see Emmanuel start to score goals again,” he said. "It has been a tough period for him. There was some frustration after the last day of the window - but not because of the club or anyone personally.
"It was simply an unexpected opportunity to realise a dream - he has always wanted to play in the Premier League. That would have been a huge moment for him and would be life-changing economically and professionally. Before and immediately after, he was, of course, focused on Middlesbrough, but he is human too.
"When something so huge came as a surprise, it was a strange moment for him too and not easy to manage. Since then, it’s not been easy because the team have not always been getting the results they want. Emmanuel was often playing well but not getting the goals, and of course, as a striker, you want goals above all else.
"It’s been a bit like a rollercoaster - always up and down - and that’s been a tough moment, not just for Emmanuel but also for the team. He came out of the team for a little bit, which is understandable because in [Tommy] Conway Middlesbrough have another very nice striker, and one who knows the league well.
"Now though, Emmanuel is coming back and has scored three goals recently, two of which were from the bench, which I think proves how focused he is and that he has the right attitude - always wanting to score to help the team.
"Everyone is happy and hopefully Middlesbrough can move forward and into the play-off group.”