HAMMERS FRANK ABOUT LAMPARD

Liverpool, Aston Villa, Tottenham and more recently Arsenal have been linked with the midfielder, and the Upton Park outfit were thought to be tempted to sell in order to help fund their stadium redevelopment this summer.

West Ham managing director Paul Aldridge, however, insisted the club had no plans to part with their best players.

He said: "The redevelopment is funded by institutions. We need to do a little housekeeping but I must stress that we are under no pressure to sell any of our young players.

"We broke the bank to give Rio and Frank new deals and we want to keep them, Joe Cole and Michael Carrick for as long as possible.

"If they decide they want to go, then that is another matter but we hope that won`t be for some time yet."

Jonny Wootton