Manchester United insisted today they had done nothing wrong by top-flight rivals Sunderland following their unsuccessful attempts to sign the Black Cats' French winger David Bellion.
United want to bring Bellion, 20, to Old Trafford but are not prepared to meet Sunderland's asking price of more than £2million and have indicated they are willing to wait until the summer when the player's contract expires.
But relegation-threatened Sunderland believe United's interest has led directly to a string of mystery "injuries" which have left Bellion sidelined since December 21st.
Sunderland chairman Bob Murray branded United's behaviour "despicable".
But a United statement Thursday said: "We formally contacted Sunderland in December on the basis that David Bellion was going to be out of contract this summer and with the intention of establishing whether we could reach agreement with the club on a deal for the end of the season.
"We have played no part in making the player feel disaffected with Sunderland and at no time have we made an illegal approach for him."
However, United's words are unlikely to pacify Murray.
Earlier Thursday he made it clear that he thought United were deliberately trying to unsettle Bellion in an effort to force through a cut-price deal before the closure of the January transfer window.
"Considering we are fighting for our lives, their behaviour has been despicable," Murray told the club's website.
"The relationship between the clubs is at an all-time low."
Murray added: "We are realistic enough to realise that sometimes you cannot keep a player and we understand why he would want to go to Old Trafford, but they do not want him now. Their behaviour has been shabby.
"All they have achieved is to unsettle a player and, as a result, we have lost David for six or seven months of his contract at a crucial time."
Bellion told Sunderland he is "mentally not right" to continue his career with the Black Cats and is currently in France after discharging himself from a rehabilitation course at the National Sports Centre.
Bellion was sent there after reporting a series of injuries which club doctors could not confirm with medical tests or scans.
"David first made us aware that he had an injury just before Christmas, about the same time as speculation arose regarding Manchester United's interest in signing him," Murray said.
Bellion, one of the fastest players in English football, was signed by former Sunderland manager Peter Reid on a free transfer from Cannes in the summer of 2001.
He has also attracted interest from Liverpool, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, according to Murray.
Despite Bellion's apparent reluctance to play for Sunderland, Murray said manager Howard Wilkinson was keen to get him back for the remaining five months on his contract.