West Ham have warned Manchester United that England striker Carlton Cole is not for sale at any price.

Premier League champions United are the latest club to be linked with a 20 million pounds (22.3 million euros) bid for Cole when the transfer window reopens in January.

Former Chelsea youth academy product Cole has scored six times this season and reports in the English press on Saturday suggested United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to make a massive offer for the 26-year-old.

However a West Ham spokesman insisted that Cole is "not for sale" and added: "We want to keep all our best players and the suggestion that we need to sell because of a financial crisis is not true."