It was a frustrating transfer- deadline day for Peter Reid. Plymouth Argyle's manager did manage to bring Stéphane Zubar back to Home Park yesterday to compete for the right-back role in his team, but that was as good as it got.

The main priority for the Pilgrims' boss yesterday was his attempt to recruit a striker to give Argyle's attack a much- needed boost, but Reid's quest to bring a front-runner to Devon was in vain.

The search for a striker will resume next Wednesday, when the Football League's autumn loan-transfer window opens, but Reid will have to find a new top target. The forward he was trying to sign is employed by a Scottish club, and now cannot change clubs until January next year.

"I have tried to do a lot of things, but I haven't been able to do as much as I wanted," Reid said yesterday, when he surveyed his efforts in the transfer market. "A striker is still my main priority and I haven't got one in yet, but we can still do things after eight days [when the opportunity to make loan signings is one again available]."

The Argyle manager almost had a deal for a forward done and dusted, but then circumstances changed. Reid added: "I thought I had one tied up, but that fell through at the last minute. It was a bit of a blow because it's one that needed to go through [this week] as the boy is in Scotland.

"Unfortunately, his club has had a couple of injuries, which has kyboshed that deal, but we've still got a list that we're actually working on."

One striker who was not on Reid's list of targets – despite stories to the contrary being published by the Yorkshire Post and Sky Sports, was Adam Le Fondre of Rotherham United.

The prolific 23-year-old has grabbed 35 goals in 56 games for the Millers since being bought from Rochdale in August last year, and has scored five times this season. On Monday this week, Sky Sports claimed that Argyle were trying to use Rory Fallon – whom Rotherham wanted to borrow last month – as bait in a bid to prise Le Fondre away from the Don Valley Stadium.

The story suggested that the Pilgrims were offering the New Zealand striker plus a fee for Le Fondre. Yesterday's Yorkshire Post quoted Rotherham's chairman, Tony Stewart, who supposedly said: "The offer from Plymouth was dismissed in seconds."

Whoever communicated the alleged bid to the League Two club was not representing the Pilgrims, however. When Reid was told on Monday about the initial Sky Sports report, he said: "That's rubbish. I don't know anything about it."

Yesterday, having been made aware of the comments attributed to the Millers' chairman, Reid repeated his denials. When asked again if the Pilgrims had lodged a bid for Le Fondre, he replied: "No, we didn't. I find it remarkable that the Plymouth manager doesn't know about an offer being made."

Fallon rejected the chance to join Rotherham last month. Rumours linking the New Zealand World Cup player with a possible transfer to New Zealand's top club, Wellington Phoenix, have also resurfaced in his homeland and in Australia, but Reid is concentrating on finding a way to restore the big target man to full fitness, rather than parting company with him.

Fallon has missed Argyle's last two npower League One matches, both of which have been lost, due to a groin injury which he aggravated in a training session a fortnight ago. The problem has troubled him since before the end of last season, and the Pilgrims' boss fears that an operation may be necessary.

"We're waiting on a specialist report, but we think he has got a hernia," Reid revealed. "If I was a betting man, I would say it will need surgery."

Jim Paterson, like Fallon, is still on the Pilgrims' books. The versatile left-back went to Greece last month for a trial with top-flight club Kavala, but no transfer has materialised. "I don't think the deal in Greece came up to his standard," Reid explained.

As well as failing to add a striker to their squad, Argyle were able to find a new home – permanent or temporary – for only one of their surplus players. Their efforts to further reduce their wagebill will resume next week.

Southend United have signed defender Chris Barker, who has spent the first month of the season playing on loan for Paul Sturrock's League Two side, on a free transfer, after his Argyle contract was settled. Bristol Rovers were rumoured to be interested in borrowing Argyle goalkeeper Romain Larrieu, but that deal did not happen.

The only inbound deal at Home Park involved Zubar, who trained with the Pilgrims before the start of the season and played in a friendly match at Queen's Park Rangers. After securing his release from Romanian club Vaslui, the 23-year-old Guadeloupe- born Frenchman was available as a free agent.

"We've signed him for a month at the moment, and that will be the deal until he gets his international clearance," Reid explained.