Hull admit defeat over Negredo

Hull had agreed a fee of £12m (GETTY IMAGES)

Hull boss Phil Brown has admitted his disappointment at his failure to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo.

The Tigers had a £12m bid accepted by the Spanish giants but were unable to tempt to the 23-year-old to move to the KC Stadium.

Reports in Spain suggest Negredo is now poised to join Sevilla after also attracting strong interest from Real Zaragoza.

Brown said: "The lad has decided to stay in Spain.

"We did everything we possibly could and I take my hat off to the chairman for the things he did in getting a world-class player to even talk to us.

"But that's dead now, it's on the wave behind and we'll try to get the next one.

"I'm very disappointed. There was a lot of effort and energy, not just from myself - for the last six weeks we were working hard at it."

Brown has made strengthening his strikeforce a top priority but is also keen to bring in a right-back before the closure of the transfer window.

Brown's need was highlighted last night as Hull were beaten 5-1 by Tottenham at the KC Stadium.

New signing Stephen Mouyokolo, a centre-half, lasted just 45 minutes as a makeshift full-back before Bernard Mendy was switched from the wing.

Brown will this week give a trial to Bosnian right-back Sanel Jahic of Greek club Aris Thessaloniki.

The manager said: "He is going to join us for a couple of days training and we'll have a look at him."