Irvine Meadow failed in an audacious bid to sign former Motherwell and Livingston striker Dylan Mackin, Ayrshire Football News can reveal.
Medda co-bosses Colin Spence and James Latta made a move for the 24-year-old frontman earlier this month after he came to the end of his contract at Stirling Albion.
Mackin, who hails from Irvine, met the duo for talks but ultimately plumped for another spell at the Binos.
But Spence revealed how he tried to persuade Mackin – who counts Falkirk, Alloa and Brechin among his former clubs – to drop down the divisions and sign for the West of Scotland League outfit.
He said: "Dylan is an Irvine lad and our general manager Brian Lamb got wind that he might be available while playing a round at Bogside funnily enough.
"Stirling were aiming for the play-offs at the time so we waited until their season was over before approaching Dylan.
"We got him down for a chat and tried to persuade him to come on board.
"We asked him if he fancied being a local hero and joked about him getting his own statue in the town if he did well for us!
"In the end he decided to stay at Stirling but going for a high profile name shows the ambition we have here at Irvine Meadow."
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
