Manchester City executive chairman Garry Cook has revealed Mark Hughes refuses to accept defeat in his bid for Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz.

"We made an offer for Santa Cruz last week and were told, in the bluntest possible terms, to forget it," Cook said yesterday. "We have been told to give up on him. Mark is adamant that we don't, but it's fair to say that the window is closing and that Blackburn have closed it on us."