Dundee United made a stunning big money deadline day bid for Dunfermline striker Kevin Nisbet, Courier Sport can reveal.
Hibs were the first club to show their hand last Friday and submitted a £350,000 offer plus £150,000 worth of add-ons for the highly-rated 22-year-old.
United then came to the table, it is understood, and went even higher to try to tempt the Pars into doing business.
The Tangerines were given the same message as the Edinburgh club, though, which was Dunfermline were unwilling to sell their star man mid-season with the promotion play-offs still in their sights.
Even the best part of half-a-million pounds couldn’t persuade them.
Nisbet has scored 22 goals in the Championship this campaign after signing from Raith Rovers.
At the end of the season he will have one year left on his deal when more offers are sure to come in for him.
And by that point, United could be looking for a Lawrence Shankland replacement, with Nisbet thought by many in the game as the best like-for-like candidate in the country.