WEST HAM have issued a hands-off warning to any clubs looking to cash in on their financial problems by swooping for their star players.

Striker Carlton Cole is the latest name to have done the rounds, with Manchester United reportedly weighing up a £20million move in January, while the forward is also thought to have attracted the attention of Liverpool. Defender Matthew Upson has also been linked with a number of clubs.

But the Hammers insist their financial position will not dictate that they must sell their prized assets when the winter window opens in the New Year, and insisted that Cole 'is not for sale'.

A club spokesman said: "We want to keep all our best players and the suggestion that we need to sell because of a financial crisis is not true."