As expected Hassan Kachloul has once again turned down the opportunity to join Town. The Moroccan, who rejected a new offer for his current club Southampton yesterday, is expected to have asked for far more than Town were willing to pay.

Recent reports suggested that Kachloul was after something in the region of £20,000 a week and Town were not prepared to pay that much. Kachloul previously chose not to join Town in the summmer when the Blues had a £1.8m offer accepted by the Saints. Recently a second offer was accepted by their chairman Rupert Lowe. Chairman David Sheepshanks said: "We had further positive talks with the player who was well disposed to our approach. It is disappointing but we are not prepared to break our wage structure and we have to respect his view that as a free agent he may be able to negotiate a new deal elsewhere in the summer.

Despite another set-back Town will still seeking to strengthen the squad and that there are other players in mind. The failure to lure Kachloul may lead to speculation that previous target Gert Verheyen of Club Brugges may be re-approached. Town have already been back for the player once since the protracted 'discussions' with the Belgians in October.

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