Hull boss Phil Brown claims there were too many agents in the deal for Roma's Christian Panucci to make the finances work. The 35-year-old agreed personal terms and passed a medical but both clubs could not agree on a fee.

"It was difficult because in the end it was about finances so it would have been done for the wrong reasons," Brown told the Hull Daily Mail.

"We were ready to push the boat out to make the deal happen, but as far as we were concerned there were too many agents involved feeding for the scraps."