Second Bellamy bid rejected

WEST Ham have turned down an improved Manchester City bid for striker Craig Bellamy.

The Hammers are believed to have spurned a £9million deal for the Wales international, after refusing the Blues' initial bid last week - when they also would not entertain an attempt to sign midfielder Scott Parker.

Hammers' chief exexcutive Scott Duxbury has reaffirmed that the club does not have to sell its best players, and backed his words by turning down City's latest attempt to reinforce their squad ahead of the January 31 transfer deadline.

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The bid was believed to be £9 million, and we now see ourselves faced with the same dilemna as we do for Roque Santa Cruz.

West Ham offloaded some fringe players at the back end of last week, presumably in a bid to avoid having to sell the likes of Bellamy and Scott Parker.

It is a difficult decision we now face with certain negotiations. What looks apparant is that clubs are attempting to continue negotiations as far down the transfer window as possible, in the hope that we will be forced to pay way over the odds.

What is clear to me though is that in some respects, we are dealing from a position of strength given that there appears to be no other clubs with a genuine interest in either player. With that in mind, are we best standing firm as if the clubs do want (need) to sell they themselves will run out of time if they want to complete a deal by the end of January?