Phil Brown's search for a new striker goes on after Hull City confirmed they have pulled out of a deal to sign Sunderland striker Daryl Murphy after failing to agree personal terms with the Republic of Ireland interntional.

The Tigers boss had agreed an initial £1.5million fee for the 26-year-old earlier this week after being frustrated in his other attempts to lure a forward to the KC Stadium this summer.

Fraizer Campbell, Marc-Antoine Fortune and Michael Owen have all been targeted by Brown this summer and all three have resisted his advances in favour of moves to Sunderland, Celtic and Manchester United respectively.

However, Brown's luck appeared to have changed when his Sunderland counterpart Steve Bruce accepted the offer for the former Waterford hitman, who broke off signing talks with Ipswich to speak with the Premier League club.

But the transfer has now collapsed after a meeting on Thursday with the club refusing to meet Murphy's wage demands.

A club statement read: "Hull have withdrawn their interest in Sunderland's Daryl Murphy after negotiations over personal terms broke down."

Hull and Brown will now step up their efforts to sign Fulham hitman Bobby Zamora after they had a £5million bid for the 28-year-old accepted by the Cottagers earlier this week.