West Ham United have rejected a £15m bid from Manchester City to sign both Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker. The Premier League club insist that neither player is for sale and have also moved to hold talks with Matthew Upson's representatives to spell out their intention to hold on to the England international who is also attracting intense interest with the transfer window set to open.

>>independent.co.uk

How reliable the story is we don't know, but the name of Bellamy is not a surprise given the speculation that has surrounded him. As one of the comments in the Blackburn thread mentioned, he was also left out of yesterdays victory over Stoke (after returning to goalscoring form the day before). UPDATE - He didn't play due to suspension.

I really don't see how Bellamy improves our line up. If Hughes continues with the 4-2-3-1 line-up I just don't see where he fits in. He cannot operate as a lone striker, but perhaps Hughes is looking at playing him in a wider role?

Something else to bear in mind is the return of Bojinov. Hopefully injury free, playing in a similar role to that of Bellamy, he is a far better option.

Parker is an interesting one. We do need to upgrade that defensive midfield area and Parker is a useful player. He gets the job done and appears to have rebuilt his career somewhat after spells at Chelsea and Newcastle. If we cannot grab Marcos Senna, then he may well be a useful pick up.