Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock has ended his chase for Preston striker David Nugent after describing him as "outrageously over-priced."
Blades had a club-record £6m bid for the England under-21 star turned down.
Warnock said of the 21-year-old: "Preston's chairman Derek Shaw has made it clear they've no intention of selling him, so we've moved on
"In a way it's just as well because I think David is outrageously overpriced for what we are talking about."
Warnock made Nugent his top transfer window target, but has been forced to turn his attentions elsewhere - with Leeds United's Northern Ireland striker David Healy emerging as a possible new priority.
He said: "David Nugent is a good player and I'd love to have him, but at the moment the fee is not realistic.
"I can understand that because Preston are trying to get into the Premiership.
"They've a great chance and he is one of their major assets, if not the major asset, so good luck to Preston."
Warnock added: "Kevin McCabe (plc chairman) knows I won't spend more for the sake of it, like I did last year when we were in the Championship.
"I had to on that occasion because the prize was so big and we had five strikers out injured at the time.
"We have made a couple of big offers, but they were turned down, so we go about our business in the normal way.
"I know I'm not necessarily going to get all my targets, but in the next week to 10 days I'm hoping to bring in another two or three players."