The Potters held talks with the 22-year-old at the Britannia Stadium earlier this week after having a £4million bid accepted by the Reds.

But boss Tony Pulis has now pulled out of the race to sign Carson, with Rovers, Middlesbrough and West Brom also interested in recruiting him.

A Stoke statement read: "We can announce that we are no longer pursuing Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson.

"The club will continue to look to improve the squad and remain hopeful of closing in on several new signings ahead of the Premier League campaign."

Carson, 22, spent the whole of last season on loan at Aston Villa, who had previously expressed a desire to make the move permanent but were put off by a reported £10million price tag.

The goalkeeper - who has two senior England caps - joined Liverpool from Leeds in January 2005 but has made just nine first-team appearances for the Reds, also spending time on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton.

Blackburn are believed to have emerged as favourites to sign him after reportedly accepting a £2.5million bid for Brad Friedel from Aston Villa