Wigan have failed with yet another bid to sign Dean Windass.

The Telegraph & Argus can reveal that Paul Jewell made a deadline-day move for the City striker on Thursday.

But for the second year in a row, the former Bantams boss could not land his target.

The verbal offer was made at 7pm, just five hours before the transfer window slammed shut, and the terms are understood to have been exactly the same as last season - £350,000 up front, with a further £150,000 providing Wigan survive in the Premiership.

But chairman Julian Rhodes rejected it out of hand, claiming it was not enough to tempt the club to part with their talismanic hitman.

Rhodes, who is currently on holiday in Jersey, today confirmed: "Wigan contacted me with an offer which I turned down."

Windass was not informed of Wigan's interest because City did not want his head turned ahead of the Brentford match.

He found out later from his solicitor and admitted he was "disappointed" at being kept in the dark.

Windass is under contract until the end of next season after signing an extension following the Latics' initial move 12 months ago.

That will take him past 39 but the veteran marksman believes he can follow the lead of the likes of Teddy Sheringham and Steve Claridge and carry on playing into his 40s.

Joint top scorer in League One with 27 goals two seasons ago, he notched 20 in all competitions last term and is already among the division's leaders this time with four so far.

Windass recently became the fourth-highest scorer in City's history and the equaliser against Rotherham in the club's last home game was his 150th league goal in England.

Jewell, who lives near Windass in Menston, has now tried three times to take him to Wigan. He was also in the hunt when the striker opted to return to Valley Parade in 2003.

After missing out last year, Jewell said: "Dean would have been a great player to have in our squad.

"But I can understand Bradford not wanting to see their best player leave and I can understand Dean wanting to stay where he's guaranteed to play every week."

Having again drawn a blank with City, Jewell was forced to look elsewhere for another frontman and snapped up Portsmouth's Svetoslav Todorov on loan later in the evening.

The news that Rhodes snubbed Wigan's latest approach shows a change of tack by City. A year ago, the club were happy to leave the final decision to Windass.

He opted to stay put at that time, after much soul-searching, despite the prospect of receiving £10,000 a week in wages.

But he may have been tempted for one last fling in the top flight, had City given him the chance to speak to Wigan again last week.

Following a bright start to the campaign, Colin Todd has stressed the importance of stability.

That is why he was so keen to nail down loan duo Lee Holmes and Nathan Doyle until the new year.

Some fans may feel that turning down decent money for a 37-year-old is a risk, particularly given the tight finances.

But it does underline the determination to keep the current squad together at all cost and give City their best chance of reaching their play-off target.