WEST HAM'S pledge not to sell their best players in the January transfer window will be severely tested this week as speculation mounts over the futures of key trio Matthew Upson, Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker.
Arsenal are believed to be preparing to mount a bid for Upson, with Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner being used as bait.
Parker is hotly tipped to move to Manchester City this week, while Bellamy could also follow him, though he is also being coveted by Tottenham and Aston Villa.
West Ham insisted on Monday that they will reject any bid from Arsenal for England defender Upson as the cash-strapped club come under increasing pressure to sell their top players.
City, dubbed the richest club in the world after last summer's takeover by a Middle Eastern consortium, are confident of signing Parker this week - reportedly for a fee of £12 million - while boss Mark Hughes is expected to up his bid for Bellamy.
Upson, who missed West Ham's 3-0 FA Cup win over Barnsley with a virus, is also rumoured to be wanted by Aston Villa but, despite the club's financial problems, chief executive Scott Duxbury has stressed that the defender will not be leaving during this month's transfer window. Duxbury insists that he is under no pressure to sell players, though tellingly he has said that "each approach will be considered in terms of fee, fitness, form and where the manager thinks the player is in his career."
Irons boss Gianfranco Zola is most reluctant to lose Upson, who he believes has been West Ham's most consistent performer this season.
However, Parker looks more likely to leave than stay, while a £20m bid from City for Bellamy may well sway the Hammers who have endured a torrid six months financially.
The east London club have seen their shirt sponsor go bust and could potentially face having to pay Sheffield United £50m over their behaviour in the Carlos Tevez affair.
To make matters worse, the credit crunch has drastically reduced the economic clout of the club's Icelandic owners.
Tottenham will compete with City to sign Bellamy, though the north Londoners cannot compete with their flush Premier League rivals. West Ham insist, however, that none of their players will leave without replacements being lined up first.
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