Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has confirmed that he was thwarted in his efforts to sign England striker David Nugent before the transfer window slammed shut.

The 25-year-old was being lined up for a move away from Portsmouth, before Holloway was unable to contact the player in the final few minutes of last Tuesday afternoon.

He told the Blackpool Gazette:"If the player hadn't gone missing we'd have had David Nugent.

"With 20 minutes to go we had Nugent signed on, but no-one could locate him, so he couldn't sign his contract and it all fell through.

"So that's one that wriggled out of the net, but it happens.

"I thought he was one that was worth trying to get, so because of that we put some other deals on hold.

"Nugent was the main one we targeted. We didn't miss many, but unfortunately that was one we did and it wasn't possible to get a back-up with 20 minutes left."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email