There have been increasing rumours this week that the Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is very keen to take the West Ham striker Carlton Cole to Anfield in January.

The England striker is desperately needed at Liverpool to take some of the pressure of the Spanish international Fernando Torres in the second half of the season.

The Hammers are in financial trouble this year and are thought to need a large injection of cash to balance the books, so Benitez was hoping that a £12m bid for the ex-Chelsea man would be enough to persuade West Ham to let him go, but the news today is that the Hammers value their star man at £20m, and won’t let him go for less.

Gianfranco Zola can’t afford to lose Cole as his team flirt with relegation, and if they let him go they will have even less chance of staying up this season.