YORK City have missed out on a shock swoop for Huddersfield Town striker Luke Beckett.

KitKat Crescent director Sophie McGill has confirmed that Beckett was prepared to sign for the Minstermen but has been unable to reach a settlement with the League One club over the remaining 12 months of his Terriers' contract.

Beckett, who has netted 163 goals in almost 400 appearances during ten years as a Football League professional, has been told by newly-appointed Huddersfield boss Stan Ternent that he can leave the Galpharm Stadium for the right offer.

The announcement has alerted a clutch of clubs, but a 15-year friendship with the former Barnsley trainee had made City boss Colin Walker the surprise favourite to secure Beckett's signature had he been able to negotiate a satisfactory settlement at Huddersfield.

Walker was Beckett's youth-team coach at Oakwell and the pair have stayed in close contact ever since.

The Sheffield-born forward never broke into the Tykes' first team but, after leaving for Chester in 1998, he scored 22 goals in 62 games before moving on to Stockport.

A total of 45 goals from 84 appearances for the Edgeley Park club followed, earning Beckett a £50,000 move to Sheffield United in November 2004.

He only played five games in two years as a Blades player, but still found the net 24 times in 43 outings on loan at Oldham before leaving for Huddersfield in an £85,000 deal.

Beckett has scored 15 and 12 goals during two campaigns at the West Yorkshire club, with the highlight coming in January when he scored in the 2-1 FA Cup third round victory over then Premier League club Birmingham City.

League Two side Bradford have also held talks with Beckett and are more likely to be in a position to offer the 5ft 11in forward terms that compensate for the loss of his Huddersfield wages.

City's communications and community director McGill said, however, that the club had not given up all hope of bagging Beckett, insisting that "the chain of communication with Luke and his agent will be kept open".

She added: "Colin Walker and (managing director) Jason McGill have been in talks with Luke Beckett and were hopeful that they could complete the signing but, unfortunately, Luke has been unable to reach a settlement over the outstanding year on his contract and, as far as we are aware, he will stay at Huddersfield now.

"It's a shame the deal hasn't come off as he would have been a fantastic signing for City because we are confident he would have provided a lot of goals for the team. Luke has a very good relationship with Colin and was very keen to come to York."