West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis has admitted that he may abandon plans to sign Charlie Taylor if an agreement over compensation with Leeds United cannot be reached.
The 23-year-old, who was also on the Baggies' radar 12 months ago, will likely be on his way out of Elland Road in the summer after refusing to play for the club in their final league outing.
Pulis recently admitted to still being interested in the defender, while reports last week suggested that a compensation fee of between £3m and £5m had been reached between Albion and Leeds.
That does not appear to be the case and a proposed transfer may fall short for the out-of-contract ace, however, as Pulis is unwilling to let the matter go to a tribunal.
"We wanted to find out what the price was to see if we'd be interested," he told reporters. "If it's going to go to tribunal, we don't know what the price is and I think that takes us out of the game.
"You could go to tribunal and they could put an extraordinary amount of money on it and you're stuck with it. It's a risk that, at this moment, is not worth taking."
Taylor, a part of the Whites' academy setup since the age of 11, is said to have been fined two weeks' wages for his refusal to play against Wigan Athletic earlier this month.