FIRST Division strugglers Barnsley have snubbed the chance to take Egil Ostenstad on loan ahead of tomorrow's transfer deadline.

I can reveal the Tykes were offered Ostenstad earlier this week after manager Steve Parkin failed in a similar bid to land Craig Hignett until the end of the season.

But the relegation-threatened Yorkshire club have passed up the opportunity to take the former Southampton star -- leaving the Norwegian striker stuck in limbo.

A Scottish Premier club are keen to take the Ewood exile north of the border before the deadline but that deal looks doomed to failure.

Ostenstad has spent much of the season on the sidelines after falling completely out of favour with manager Graeme Souness.

The 30-year-old has managed just a handful of appearances despite Rovers' problems up front during the early part of the season when Ciccio Grabbi and Matt Jansen failed to click.

Since then Souness has also signed both Andy Cole and Yordi to further bolster his striking resources, leaving Ostenstad even further down the pecking order.

And now the Norwegian may have to wait until the summer before securing the move he needs to kick-start his career.