Phil Brown, the Hull City manager, has been left "disappointed" by news that Fraizer Campbell has chosen to join Sunderland instead of returning to the KC Stadium.

Hull announced prior to Campbell’s involvement at the recent European Under-21 Championship that they had agreed a fee for the Manchester United striker, but Brown was unable to conclude the transfer and now the 21-year-old, who was also linked with relegated Newcastle United, is due to undergo a medical at Sunderland over the weekend.

"I'm disappointed but I was always nervous about the deal because of the way it was dragging along,” Brown said. "But things happen for a reason and as far as Hull are concerned, the only ones I'm interested in getting through the door are players who want to play for the club.

"I took a phone call from Sir Alex [Ferguson] and he was apologetic that the player had not come to us. He firmly believed this was the right club for Fraizer but he's obviously getting advice from somewhere else."

Hull also attempted to sign Campbell last summer after he helped the club to win promotion from the Championship during a successful loan spell, only to see Tottenham Hotspur recruit him as part of the deal that took Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United.