Brian Talbot was turning his attention elsewhere after Oxford United had a £150,000 bid for Bristol Rovers striker Junior Agogo turned down last night.

Time is running out for the U's boss - who is desperate to sign a proven goalscorer - with the deadline for transfers arriving in just a few hours' time.

But he insisted: "We'll keep on trying, right up until 12 o'clock tonight."

The offer for Agogo, who has been a regular scorer for Rovers over the last few years, is a strange one because it was surely never likely to have been treated seriously.

It is a bit like offering Rochdale £300,000 for Grant Holt - the Lancashire club are never going to accept something like that, yet it sends out signals that you are trying.

United knew that Agogo, who smashed 24 goals last season and has hit four in five league starts this season, is out of contract next summer.

And with their former director Bill Smith ironically now working at the Memorial Stadium, Oxford United chairman Firoz Kassam evidently thought it was worth a phone call.

News of the bid rejection was put speedily on United's website.

Kassam told the website: "We approached Bristol Rovers and expressed an interest, and were prepared to pay a substantial fee for the player.

£150,000 is a lot of money for a League Two club at the moment, and is the most we have paid on any one player in recent years.

"It now looks as if we will have to turn our attention to other targets, and we certainly have one or two more players in mind."

Bristol Rovers paid £110,000 to sign Agogo, a former QPR and Sheffield Wednesday forward, from Barnet two seasons ago.

The fee was paid for by the fans, by way of a Supporters' Club share scheme, and he was the last player Rovers paid a fee for.

The Ghanaian, who scored twice when Bristol Rovers beat United 2-0 at the Memorial Stadium last season, was interesting Luton last year and several clubs have been sniffing this month.

The offer from Oxford was a verbal, not a written one, but Bristol Rovers director Kevin Spencer confirmed that it had been discussed by the board, and they had rejected it.

"We are not looking to offload our best assets, and we are looking to sit down with Junior and talk with him about extending his contract."

The offer came on the day that United were due to have played at Bristol Rovers in League Two, but the fixture has been put back until September 13 because of striker Craig Davies's call-up for Wales.

Talbot said last night: "We need a goalscorer, and Agogo's a player I believe would get us 20 goals a season.

"I didn't deal with it, the chairman did. The chairman's keen for this club to have a successful season and we put a very good offer in.

"We have played OK this season, the lads have worked very hard and we have good shape to the team. All we are really lacking is a goalscorer.

"We haven't replaced Tommy Mooney, but we have other irons in the fire. All we can do is try."