West Bromwich Albion Manager Tony Pulis has conceded defeat in his pursuit of Jeffrey Schlupp after Leicester made it clear they are not prepared to sell the winger.
The Baggies were considering a third bid having seen a second offer worth up to £12m turned down with Schlupp potentially needing to hand in a transfer request.
The 23-year-old was eager to leave the champions, where he had fallen down the pecking order.
But this week Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri told Schlupp he wouldn’t be leaving this window.
The Ghana international was frustrated by that order and was contemplating handing in a transfer request.
There were those at Albion who held a glimmer of hope that a deal could still be brokered, but Pulis has moved on.
“I think that’s dead,” he said, when asked about Schlupp. “Obviously we made an offer and the understanding was that the lad wanted to play first-team football.
“I think he would have been keen to come to us but they are the team that hold the player and they have the decide whether they want to let him go or not.
“We can’t do anything about that. If they want to keep him at Leicester so be it. He’s under contract.”
