Hull hold nerve and turn down £5m offer for Hunt

But the Tigers chairman believes the decision to reject Mick McCarthy's 5m bid for the Republic of Ireland international could well prove to be a defining moment in the fight to stay in the Premier League.

Hull's bold move to turn down a fourth offer from Wolves came as Middlesbrough accepted defeat in their attempt to hold on to Adam Johnson by striking a 7m deal with Manchester City.

The 22-year-old signed a four-and-a-half year deal late yesterday afternoon, allowing Gordon Strachan to move quickly to snap up Celtic striker Scott McDonald for 3.5m just a minute before the 5pm deadline.

McDonald, the 53rd and final transfer involving a Yorkshire club in the window, will be joined at the Riverside Stadium by Aberdeen's Lee Miller and former Sheffield United full-back Kyle Naughton, the latter having signed on loan until the end of the season from Tottenham.

In Hull, the news top scorer Hunt was remaining at the

KC Stadium despite McCarthy making what he admitted was an "over-the-odds" offer was a major boost ahead of tonight's home game with Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Tigers chairman Pearson last night told the Yorkshire Post: "The offer was hugely tempting, especially as the money was on the nose and not dependent on any clauses with regards goals or Wolves staying up.

"It would have gone a long way towards easing our short-term financial problems.

"But we tried to take a commercial decision in that keeping Stephen will give us a stronger chance of retaining our Premier League place.

"It certainly sends out a statement of intent in our attempts to get the five wins we will probably need to stay up."

It was a busy day for the Tigers with Peter Halmosi leaving on loan to join Hungarian club Szombathelyi Haladas on loan until the end of the season.

The 29-year-old joined Hull from Plymouth in a then-record 2.5m deal 18 months ago but has started just four league games.

Others heading out of the KC Stadium were Daniel Cousin, who has joined Greek club Larissa on loan for the rest of the season, and Tony Warner. The 35-year-old is the second player to have his contract paid up by Hull following Bryan Hughes's departure over the weekend.

The trio's exit yesterday means a welcome reduction in the wage bill that had been set to reach 38.9m this year.

Pearson, whose club are likely to have to do without the injured Jimmy Bullard for another month, added: "It has been a decent transfer window for the club with Amr Zaki showing enough promise on his debut last Saturday (in the 2-2 draw with Wolves) that he could be a very good signing.

"Jimmy Bullard, Geovanni and Kamil Zayatte all missed the draw with Wolves and that is a lot of talent to come into the team.

"It shows we have the makings of a good team. If we can get them all on the field together for the games that will decide our fate then we must have a chance of avoiding relegation."

In the Championship, Sheffield United signed Nyron Nosworthy on loan from Sunderland and re-signed Fulham defender Tony Kallio until the end of the season.

Across Sheffield at Hillsborough, Akpo Sodje moved out on loan to Charlton Athletic while Shelton Martis has joined Doncaster Rovers from West Brom on a permanent deal.

Rovers are also understood to have turned down a bid of 500,000 for Martin Woods from Preston North End.

In League One, any movement involving Yorkshire's two representatives was largely through the exit door with Leeds United agreeing to cancel the contracts of David Prutton and Paul Huntington by mutual consent.

Both were quick to fix up new clubs with Prutton joining Colchester United and Huntington signing for Stockport County.

Staying at Elland Road, at least for another month, is Liverpool goalkeeper David Martin after Simon Grayson extended his loan deal.

At Huddersfield Town, Lionel Ainsworth and Jim Goodwin stretched their loan stays at Brentford and Oldham Athletic respectively until the end of the season.

In the basement division, Bradford City were not involved in any late transfer activity.

They did, however, agree a contract extension with Steven O'Leary that will keep the midfielder at Valley Parade until the end of the season.

City joint chairman Julian Rhodes said: "Steven only made one appearance before being injured in August so, now he is fit, this is a chance for him."

Rotherham United extended the stays of loanees Gavin Gunning and Marcus Marshall, while Jonathan Lund joined on a one-month deal from Burnley.