Bolton Wanderers defender Nicky Hunt was today considering an offer to join Bristol City.

City manager Steve Coppell is quietly confident the 26-year-old former England Under-21 right-back will agree to a move to Ashton Gate before the end of this week.

Available on a free transfer, Hunt and his agent met with Coppell in Bristol yesterday to discuss the terms of a possible move to the West.

Hunt returned north last night and will give Coppell an answer following further discussions with Bolton, who are prepared to release him from the final year of his contract.

But City's dramatic 11th-hour attempt to gazump Burnley and snatch Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Lee Grant has ended in failure after the Owls rejected a second bid.

City's offer did not match that made by Burnley boss Brian Laws and Grant was today expected to complete a £1m transfer to Turf Moor.

But Coppell, who is in the market for up to six new players, remains hopeful he can persuade Hunt to sign for the Championship club.

As revealed in yesterday's Post, City's manager wants Hunt as a replacement for Bradley Orr, who is set to join Queens Park Rangers.

Bolton are prepared to pay up Hunt's contract and, providing the Lancastrian can secure a mutually agreeable severance package, City officials are confident they can meet his wage demands.

Negotiations were today set to continue between City officials and Jon Stead after Ipswich Town accepted an offer of £225,000 for the 27-year-old striker.

Stead's agent received City's offer on Monday, since when the two parties have been locked in talks concerning money.

A former Premier League performer, Stead will almost certainly have to take a pay cut to come to Ashton Gate and his proposed move could fall through if a compromise is not reached by the end of this week.

Meanwhile, Coppell's late bid to snatch Ibrahima Sonko from under Portsmouth's noses failed after Pompey last night confirmed on their website they had signed the Stoke defender on a season-long loan.

City officials had made their interest known to Stoke and Coppell hoped his previous working relationship with Sonko at Reading would help persuade the giant defender to perform a late u-turn and move to Ashton Gate.

Defensively fragile, Coppell made no attempt to disguise his concern in the wake of Monday's 3-1 defeat at League One Exeter.

He said: "I said when I came into the job that, if we concede 60-odd goals in a season, then we have no chance of being successful. What we have seen so far in pre-season is a continuation of that.There are various ways of dealing with that, but the best is personnel and that is something I am trying to address.

"Louis Carey is injured and has yet to put a boot on and Jamie McCombe has left us to join Huddersfield. We are short of numbers and desperately short of quality and we need to get a lot of players in.

"I am aware that time is of the essence and I'm working hard on a daily basis to try and improve us. There is nothing concrete yet, but I'm hopeful of getting at least a couple of players in this week."

Queens Park Rangers have returned from their pre-season tour to Italy and Orr's £500,000 transfer to Loftus Road should be confirmed within the next 24 hours. Similarly, unsettled midfielder Paul Hartley is expected to complete his move to Scottish Premier League Aberdeen after agreeing terms with Dons manager Mark McGhee.

Although Coppell is working hard to replenish a squad that has been hit hard by injuries and defections, he is not expected to conclude any signings ahead of tonight's penultimate pre-season friendly test against Yeovil Town at Huish Park (7.45pm).

Short on numbers, City's manager will again utilise trialists Tom Williams, the former Peterborough United defender, and Charlie Taylor, the striker released by Grays this summer.