The Chester City boss was still hopeful of signing the Liverpool-born forward who scored 17 goals for the Ellesmere Port non-league club in the Blue Square North League last term.

City had agreed a five-figure bid with Vauxhall for Taylor after an initial £50,000 bid was rejected by the Rivacre Park club, but Davies revealed that the player's agent was making further progress very difficult.

Davies said: "The talks with Paul Taylor's agent have been frustrating.

People say that no news is good news, but I'm not so sure in this case.

"The longer we talk the more I think the Paul Taylor deal won't happen.

The agent is making progress very difficult and that has been frustrating because I feel signing Paul would be good for Vauxhall Motors, good for Chester City, and good for the player.

"But if we don't manage to sign him I won't be too alarmed.

"We've still got a big centre forward in John Murphy and I'm confident in both Chris Holroyd and Paul McManus doing well when the new season kicks off.

"I'm keen to give both Chris and Paul an opportunity and let them get on with it."

Chester were also being linked with former City striker Luke Beckett who top-scored with 12 goals for Huddersfield Town last season.

Beckett, 31, had a successful two years at Chester in the late 1990s, scoring 33 goals in 85 games.

But he has a year left on his contract at Huddersfield and is also the subject of interest from Bradford City.

Meanwhile Davies remains confident of injecting some experienced players into his midfield by the end of this week.

The Chester City boss is patiently waiting for both Anthony Barry and Eddie Johnson to get back in touch with the Blues after being offered two-year contracts.

Barry played regularly for Yeovil last season and Chester-born Johnson is currently considering a deal from his club Bradford as well as an offer from the Blues.

Davies said: "I'm confident about both players agreeing to their two-year deals before the end of the week.

"Anthony Barry's agent has been away, but I'm confident that his deal can be sorted by the end of the week, and Eddie Johnson has been away on holiday, but I'm quite positive he will sign for us, but he has needed a bit more time.

"Until anyone puts pen to paper I'm always wary of making any predictions, but little things like our home draw against Leeds in the Carling Cup and the decision to televise the match live on Sky can help matters sometimes.

"As a former player and now as a coach and a manager I know full well that things can be scuppered.

"But if Anthony Barry and Eddie Johnson decide to sign for us I believe it will be a massive plus for Chester next season.

"I've been more concerned about signing midfielders at the moment than looking elsewhere for players.

"Stephen Vaughan has been injured but he has been working hard to get himself back into the squad, while Glenn Rule looks a great prospect, and having Mark Hughes is a massive plus."

Chester have also been linked with former Accrington Stanley midfielders Jay Harris and David Mannix.

And following a meeting with the PFA, Chester are expecting Tony Dinning and Paul Butler to both report back for training at the Deva Stadium in a fortnight.

Both players have 12 months left on their contracts but missed the final games of last season following a reported dispute with Simon Davies.