Carlisle United boss Keith Curle has revealed he was knocked back three times in his attempts to add to his squad on transfer deadline day.

Curle had identified the trio of players he wanted to bring in following the 3-0 FA Cup Fourth Round defeat to Everton on Sunday and was hoping to bring in one player permanently and two on loan.

The two loan targets featured in Everton Under-21s clash with their Manchester United counterparts on Monday – a game Curle attended – with the Blues boss keeping watch on one player from either side.

But despite missing out on a hat-trick of additions, Curle insisted he won’t “panic” and squander United’s resources unless he is certain it’s the right move for the club.

“I’ve been told the answer was 'no' on three enquiries I made, and we have worked extremely hard on trying to get them over the line,” he said.

“Ultimately we got a 'no' on one permanent move and the same on two potential half-season loans. We’ve done our business correctly and one thing I will never do is panic.

“I know the areas I want to improve but I won’t waste the club’s money if I’m not sure about a player. I need to know that he will fit into our dressing room and into our way of thinking before I look to finalise a move.

Curle added: “That’s why I was in London at 9.30 this morning to talk to a player’s representative. I went from there straight to Manchester to do the same with another representative and also to talk to the player he was working for.

“We’ve worked hard at it but, when it comes down to it, the player has to want to come to the club and his representatives have to want him to do that as well.”

The game Curle attended at the Toffees’ Finch Park training ground featured the likes of Leandro Rodriguez, Matthew Pennington and one-time Carlisle loanee Sam Byrne for Everton, while Belgian international Adnan Januzaj started for Manchester United.

It is unclear which players Curle was targeting, but he insisted that the trip was a worthwhile one as it allowed him to weigh up the potential acquisitions in person.

“I had two players I wanted to see again, having seen them before, because we are always keen to complete our due diligence before we commit ourselves to anything,” he said.

“I had good conversations with Everton on Sunday about the availability of their player and we were told they would potentially be very comfortable with the idea of a loan move for him.

“There was also a Manchester United player involved who we have been monitoring, but we wanted to make sure that both lads are ready to step into our first team environment before we took it any further.”