David Moyes did not attend Chelsea's FA Cup replay against Norwich City to scout Michy Batshuayi, while the West Ham boss dealt a blow to the Blues in their reported chase of Andy Carroll.
Belgium international Batshuayi has been strongly linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in January after struggling to make an impact at Chelsea in the year-and-a-half since moving from Marseille.
Batshuayi – who scored for Chelsea against Norwich – had been suggested as a potential makeweight in a deal to take Carroll the other way, with Antonio Conte's side linked with several surprising options, including Stoke City veteran Peter Crouch.
But Moyes attempted to end those rumours in his column for the London Evening Standard, with Carroll unlikely to play again for anyone this month.
4 – Michy Batshuayi is the third player to score in four different competitions for a club this season, after Sergio Aguero and Romelu Lukaku. Assortment.January 17, 2018
"Categorically, I did not go to Stamford Bridge to watch Batshuayi or any other player in particular," he wrote.
"I like to get out and watch plenty of matches, I hadn't seen Norwich this season and there were some players there who had been mentioned to me as having been doing well.
"What may defuse much of the speculation is that the ankle injury Andy picked up against West Brom is sufficiently serious that he will not be able to play again this month anyway and it could even need an operation to put things right, although that has not yet been confirmed."
