Liverpool will launch a £15 million (€23 million) bid to prise the Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff away from Blackburn Rovers this week after finally losing patience with the Leeds midfielder Lee Bowyer over his proposed £9 million move to Anfield.

Bowyer and his agent, David Geiss, spent last week discussing personal terms with the Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry on a five-year contract worth £35,000-a-week, almost double what he had been earning at Elland Road.

However, the 25-year-old's refusal to lower his wage demands to match the Merseysiders' offer prompted Gerard Houllier, unimpressed by Bowyer's attitude throughout the negotiations, to abandon the move yesterday.

The former Charlton midfielder, who was ordered to pay almost £1 million in legal costs despite being found not guilty of charges of affray and grievous bodily harm in relation to an assault on a student, had dismissed a £39,000-a-week deal to remain in West Yorkshire and was holding out for appreciably more to move to Merseyside.

His refusal to budge after a week of frustrating talks left Houllier scathingly questioning Bowyer's "desire" and "hunger".

"Liverpool have decided not to go ahead with the proposed transfer of Lee Bowyer for a variety of reasons," confirmed a club spokesman. "The manager Gerard Houllier was not convinced the player had either the hunger or the desire to play for the club, qualities which are essential for any Liverpool player."

The Frenchman would find Duff more accommodating. The 23-year-old, an inspiration for Mick McCarthy's Irish at the recent World Cup, has two years left on his current contract at Ewood Park and, with his failure to open talks on a new deal leaving the Rovers board fretting, is believed to be keen on a move to Merseyside.

Blackburn yesterday denied they had received a formal offer as yet from Liverpool, though the manager, Graeme Souness, admitted over the weekend that his former club had contacted the Rovers chief executive to inquire as to Duff's availability last week.

"We have had a telephone call from Liverpool asking if Damien was available," said the Scot. "The answer was 'no', and I won't let him go on the cheap. But if the price was right we would not be in a position to turn a ridiculous offer down."

With transfer money now freed up by the collapse of the Bowyer deal, a Liverpool bid of around £15 million would tempt the Rovers board. Even so, Duff, who only returned to pre-season training last Thursday, is expected to leave with the Rovers first-team squad on a three-match tour of Austria and Germany this morning.

Bowyer's future remains unclear. Having told Ridsdale that he had made a "career decision" to leave after pulling out of talks over a new five-year deal back in May - he was subsequently transfer-listed with 12 months to run on his current contract - the former Charlton midfielder was backtracking yesterday.

"I never asked to go on the transfer list and made it clear to (the Leeds chairman) Peter Ridsdale that I had reservations when they accepted Liverpool's bid, so it is probably in the best interest of all parties that the deal did not go through," he said.

"The arrival of Terry Venables was also a major factor in my thinking that this was not the right time to be leaving Elland Road. With the players we have and with Venables as manager I genuinely believe we have an excellent chance of winning something this season."

That may prompt raised eyebrows among some of the Leeds support, though Ridsdale insisted that it would be "a bonus to have Lee back at the club".

"He never said he did not want to play for us," he added.

"The only reason he was placed on the transfer list was because he only had 12 months to run on his contract and we wanted to avoid him leaving under the Bosman ruling. He's a quality player and it will be like having an England international back in the squad for free."