CHERRIES were given just 15 minutes to decide whether to accept Manchester United's January bid for Joshua King, according to a report in The Athletic.

King was subject of late transfer window interest from his former club, who contacted Cherries the evening before transfer deadline day.

The Daily Echo understands the bid was swiftly dismissed by Cherries, as United turned their attentions to Shanghai Shenhua's Odion Ighalo instead.

But The Athletic reports Man United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward spoke with Cherries chief exec Neill Blake to make a £25million offer, adding: “You have 15 minutes to tell us whether you accept, or we’ll be signing a player from China."

The report goes on to say Cherries "were not sure whether this briefest of deadlines was serious and let the 15 minutes elapse".

United then snapped up former Watford man Ighalo, 30, on a loan deal until the end of the season.

King, 28, joined Cherries from Blackburn in 2015 and is the club's leading Premier League scorer of all-time, netting 45 goals.

He returned from a hamstring injury to feature as a substitute at Sheffield United last weekend and could play against Burnley on Saturday.