Football News : West Ham rule out departure of James Tomkins

By Harry Harris, Football Correspondent

West Ham have informed ESPNsoccernet on Friday that they not interested in selling highly-rated defender James Tomkins.

GettyImagesJames Tomkins has been at West Ham since joining the club's academy aged seven

Newcastle and QPR are chasing Tomkins in the January transfer window, but it would take a huge bid to even tempt the Hammers to consider letting him go. The Magpies reportedly had a £2.5 million offer rejected this week, while QPR are ready to go as high as £3 million for the ex-England Under-21 defender.

But West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said: "There is no intention to sell James Tomkins, as far as I am concerned. We would be c ommitting suicide if we sold him at this moment."

Newcastle are determined to come back with an improved offer in January, but the Hammers are keen to focus on arrivals rather than departures and 26-year-old Barcelona striker Jonathan Soriano - who scored 32 goals in 37 games for Barcelona B last year - is one of Allardyce's top targets as his priority is a goalscorer.