The Tigers are desperate to push through a deal for the 20-year-old with the transfer window set to close tonight and club officials have been in constant contact with their counterparts at Old Trafford over the weekend.

However, with the European champions' attempts to prise Dimitar Berbatov away from Tottenham still unresolved – a deal that must go ahead before Sir Alex Ferguson will consider letting Campbell go – it appears Hull will be made to sweat ahead of the midnight transfer deadline.

A further complication emerged yesterday with a suggestion that United had tried to break the deadlock over Berbatov by offering Campbell to the north London club as a makeweight.

One newspaper also claimed cash rich QPR wanted the Huddersfield-born striker, but it is understood the player is determined to remain in the Premier League after netting 15 goals in the second tier for the Tigers last season.

Campbell is not Hull's only transfer target with manager Phil Brown having admitted late last week that he had bids on the table for five players.

One of those, Sunderland's Paul McShane, has since joined on an initial loan deal until January, but club insiders have indicated that up to four new signings could arrive at the KC Stadium before the end of today.

Among those to have been linked with the Tigers in the past 24 hours is Fulham's South Korean international striker Seol Ki-Hyeon. And international defender Kamil Zayatte, who plays for Young Boys of Berne, was last night understood to be on the verge of joining Hull on a one-year loan deal.

However, it is the chase for the jet-heeled Campbell that is attracting the most interest with Hull's bid to United dwarfing the club's previous record transfer – the £2.5m it cost to bring Anthony Gardner from White Hart Lane earlier this month.

Chairman Paul Duffen admits £7m represents an "eye-watering" amount for the club, though he is quick to stress that such an outlay will in no way threaten the club's financial future.

He said: "It is guaranteed money, though the payments will be something to negotiate. But there is no doubt in my mind that Fraizer will one day be worth £20m.

"Manchester United have been very decent in how they have dealt with us. They have been transparent.

"It is not easy to value players, there was a striker in the Premier League who scored two goals last year but has just gone for £10m. And he is not fit.

"It is an eye-watering amount of money for this club, but what I will say is that if the deal does go ahead it will be structured in such a way that it does not harm Hull City.

"There will be a lot of people alluding to the fact we have got carried away with ourselves. But I can absolutely guarantee that I am here for the long term. We are going to have to get braver in some of the things we do, but it will never be at the cost of threatening the security and financial ability of the club long term."

Hull have already made eight signings since winning promotion, but Saturday's 5-0 hammering by Wigan underlined how thin their squad is once injuries and suspension start to bite.

Of the XI that started against the Latics, only Geovanni did not play for the club in the Championship last term.

Manager Brown said: "We still have business to do before the deadline. Regardless of the result against Wigan, I was always going to try to improve the squad. We are still in the market for a couple more and have bids on the table for three or four players.

"The defeat to Wigan highlighted that we did not have our new signings playing, our Premier League quality players."

Brown, mindful his squad only had around a month off between winning the play-off final at Wembley and returning to pre-season training in late June, will use the international break to give his players a few days off.

The Hull manager also intends to take a break with his family, but has already vowed to lift the spirits of his team before the trip to Newcastle on Saturday week.

Brown said: "My job is to make sure the players learn something from the game. I could not fault the players for commitment, but I could when it came to thought process.

"Their every touch, action and movement will be scrutinised by everyone – us, themselves and the opposition. If there is a flaw, it will be picked on."