Nikki Bull has finally been forced to concede defeat in his bid to sign Ebbsfleet winger Sean Shields, but the Gate boss says he still has other irons in the fire.

Bull had been hopeful of bringing the 24-year-old to Hartsdown Park after he impressed in a six-match loan spell during December and January.

However, despite the Gate putting a variety of offers on the table, the three parties were unable to come to agreement.

Bull admitted he was disappointed not to have got the deal over the line, but said now the time had come to explore other attacking options.

He explained: "We've exhausted every avenue so the deal's off. Ideally Sean wanted an 18-month contract, which I can understand, I was a player six weeks ago, but it's not something we can commit to at this moment."

Once chances of signing Shields permanently had gone, Bull says Gate tried to negotiate another loan deal, but whatever they tried they could not see the move through.

He added: "We asked about taking him for the rest of the season and when we couldn't do that we looked into a short-term loan but whichever way we juggled it we could not get all parties' agreement."

Bull says he still has other targets in his sights and did not rule out making at least one signing before Saturday's Vanarama National League South game against Hayes and Yeading at Maidenhead.