David Moyes: Chelsea were close to signing Wayne Rooney

David Moyes has spoken of the 'fight' he had to undergo to keep Wayne Rooney at Manchester United during his short tenure as the Red Devils' manager.

The England striker was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge following Moyes' arrival at Old Trafford in the summer of 2013, amid talk that Moyes and Rooney's relationship was still on the rocks following Rooney's acrimonious departure from Everton in 2004.

"Chelsea were close to taking him," Moyes told the Sunday Times.

"Jose [Mourinho] was interested but we wouldn't do any business. I had to fight to make sure he stayed - and was at the heart, again, of what Manchester United were going to be moving forward."

Moyes oversaw the emergence of Rooney at Goodison Park, but the pair had a high-profile falling out when the England skipper accused the manager of leaking his reasons for leaving the Merseyside club to the press in his 2006 autobiography.

The pair eventually settled the matter out of court, but Moyes - who was sacked by the Red Devils a year ago this week - maintains the pair had a good relationship and says that he was able to put the spark back in the 29-year-old.

"I felt he'd lost a bit of his fight," Moyes explains.

"The thing about Wayne was he was always a fighter; he's a technically terrific footballer, can do anything with the ball, but behind it he's a tough boy, a street fighter in his football, and I felt he'd lost a bit of that.

"I think he agreed and probably thought, 'Wait a minute, I have to go back to being a bit more aggressive, a bit more myself'".

Rooney has since become a pivotal part of Louis van Gaal's resurgent Manchester United side, with the Old Trafford side currently sitting in third place, with the team set to return to the Champions League next season, despite yesterday's 1-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Rooney last month scored his 47th England goal, putting him two behind Sir Bobby Charlton in the England all-time leading scorers list, a record that Moyes has backed him to break.

He is also closing in on Charlton's Manchester United goalscoring record, needing only 19 goals to equal the Red Devils' legend's tally of 249 strikes for his club.