West Ham United reportedly saw deals for Michy Batshuayi and Maxi Gomez fall through because they were unprepared to pay either of the duo's £80,000-a-week wages.
The Hammers were desperate to add a new striker to their ranks in the January window and were linked with a number of players.
With speculation over the future of star forward Marko Arnautovic ramping up towards the end of last month, United are said to have turned to both Batshuayi and Gomez.
According to Bleacher Report, the East London outfit were prepared to stump up the £43m fee to sign Gomez from Celta Vigo on a permanent basis, but his wages proved to be a sticking point.
Batshuayi is also rumoured to be on £80,000 a week, which Chelsea wanted paid in full as part of the Belgian striker's proposed loan move, leading to United pulling the plug on talks.
The 25-year-old ended up joining Crystal Palace on a short-term deal that went through shortly after the 11pm cut-off point on deadline day.