Chris Porter turned down a new contract with Oldham

"I had put a deadline on this and when I spoke to Chris he apologised but said he still had not made up his mind," Levein told the Evening Telegraph.

"I want people who are desperate to come to this club and be part of what we are trying to do.

"He just did not give that impression, so I wished him all the best and told him we are no longer interested."

At the weekend, United chairman Eddie Thompson revealed that Porter was a target for the Tannadice club.

And Oldham were furious at the thought of losing the 23-year-old, who scored 21 goals in League One last season.

The player is soon to be out of contract and the Boundary Park club will receive compensation if he moves to another English club.

However, compensation is waived if the player switches to another country.

St Mirren are in a similar position with John Sutton, who is also out of contract and likely to move to an English club for free this summer.

Plymouth are reported to be interested in Porter and Levein suspects the forward is holding out for an improved offer.

"I just got the feeling that he might have been waiting to hear from someone else and I was not prepared to have us used as a way of getting him more money somewhere else," added the United manager.

"To be honest, he was my top target for a striker, but I have other good options I am pursuing and I did not want to hang on, still be in the same position in a fortnight, and risk missing out on them."