Crewe cut short Mellor bid

The veteran coach had agreed a loan deal with previous Liverpool incumbent Gerard Houllier, but he accepts that the prolific reserve team striker may now decide to prove his worth to the new manager - likely to be former Valencia boss Rafael Benitez - in the new campaign.

Gradi said: "The deal is certainly less likely than it was, because you can't blame Neil for wanting to stay and make an impression with the new manager.

"That's fine and if he chooses to stay there for the start of the season, then we have other targets in mind. We have a couple of names we could go for, once we know about Neil."