Steve MacLean has been linked with a move back to Scunthorpe, five years after last playing for the Iron.
The Scottish striker is free to leave Championship side Plymouth Argyle after falling out of favour at the south coast club.
Aberdeen and Hearts, of the Scottish Premier League, were interested but the Aberdeen Press and Journal suggested on Saturday he was in line for a surprise return to Glanford Park.
He spent the 2003/04 season on loan at Scunthorpe from Glasgow Rangers, scoring 25 times in all competitions.
Mark McGhee, the Aberdeen manager, confirmed his side had missed out on the forward.
“That is always a danger when you are chasing good players because other clubs are always likely to want them," he said.
“There's nothing we can do about that and we are disappointed it didn't work out but that's the reality of the market.”
MacLean, 27, had a trial with Hearts earlier this year, with their manager Csaba Laszlo suggesting earlier this month he expected the player to end up at Aberdeen. That now appears unlikely.