Sheffield Wednesday have rejected a bid from Barnsley for striker Chris O'Grady, saying that they do not want to sell the player.
The 27-year-old joined Barnsley on loan from the Owls on January transfer deadline day and won over the Reds faithful, scoring six goals in 16 appearances which helped David Flitcroft's side avoid the drop into League One.
And after having their advance knocked back by Wednesday, Reds boss Flitcroft now appears to have given up hope of signing the star of the second half of the season.
Flicker told the Star:
“We put in a bid for Chris with Sheffield Wednesday, but they turned us down.
“I don’t think a deal will be done now. We’ve tried our best to get him, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
“They know we want him and we felt we made a good offer, but they told us they don’t want to sell him.
“At the end of the day Chris has always been our No 1 target, but we can’t wait around for ever.
“He’s a Sheffield Wednesday player, so I’ve got to be careful about what I say.
“But we’ve got three or four good options and avenues we’re pursuing, so we’ve got to move on. Otherwise we’re going to get left behind."
Flicker is also believed to be chasing free agent Jon Stead, recently released by Bristol City and last season's League One top scorer runner up, Clayton Donaldson from Brentford. The former Crewe, Hibernian and York City player bagged 24 goals in all competitions for the Bees last term.
However, the Reds are not interested in re-signing either Danny Haynes or Michael Chopra. The two ex-Reds have been linked in local media. Chopra had an impressive loan spell with the Reds in 2004/05, scoring 19 goals in 45 appearances. Haynes was less successful, netting just six goals in 32 games between 2010 and 2011.