Jadon Sancho was approached by Bayern Munich, but rejected their offer in favour of joining Borussia Dortmund, according to the Bundesliga champions' sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
In recent seasons, several star names have swapped the yellow and black of Dortmund for the red of Bayern, with Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels all making that switch.
But it appears that Dortmund beat their rivals to the signature of teenage wing wizard Sancho, who is taking the Bundesliga by storm this season, having originally joined from Manchester City in 2017.
Sancho has helped Lucien Favre's side to the top of the table, scoring five goals and recording eight assists so far this season, and Salihamidzic has now confirmed that Bayern missed out on signing the 18-year-old.
"The truth is that Bayern Munich did want to sign Jadon Sancho and made him an offer which he, unfortunately, refused," Salihamidzic told Sport Bild .
Dortmund's own sporting director, Michael Zorc, admitted that there was a great deal of competition for Sancho, but explains that the club moved quickly to acquire their target.
"In the course of the talks, it was clear that top clubs from home and abroad also had great interest in [Sancho]. Fortunately, we tried very hard for him at an early stage," Zorc said.
The player himself explained the decision to join the Ruhr club, citing their excellent track record of developing young players as a key factor in his decision.
"I chose [Borussia Dortmund] because the club showed me a great perspective. If you decide to change, you have to know which way you want to go, where you see your future - I have seen mine in Dortmund," said Sancho.
"[Dortmund] tried their best early and very intensively, which gave me a good feeling. In addition, in recent years, many young players have developed incredibly here."
Sancho's Dortmund beat Bayern 3-2 in a thrilling Klassiker last weekend and will look to maintain their four-point lead at the top of the table - seven points ahead of Bayern - when they face Mainz in their next game.
However, Sancho has international duty to think about first, having been called up to England's senior squad for the second time ahead of their friendly against the USA, before a Nations League fixture against Croatia.