Frederic Piquionne(credit:
Wikipedia)
West Ham co-owner David Gold insists striker Frederic Piquionne will not be joining Aston Villa when the transfer window reopens.
The 32-year-old, who only made the move to Upton Park in the summer, has been linked with a switch to Villa Park in recent months and admitted during an interview with a French radio station that he would be interested in working under Gerard Houllier.
But Gold is determined to hold on to Piquionne as the Hammers look to get off the bottom of the Premier League table and avoid relegation to the Championship.
He said: “He's not for sale. This club is fighting for its life. It's got to change what it's been doing. For 30 years, it's been selling its best players. That's got to stop.”
And Gold went on to confirm that the Hammers are focused only on strengthening the squad for the second half of the season.
He added: “We've got 15 irons in the fire, and I mean that literally. We're just concentrating on incomings, and if you get three, you've done good.
“There's a lot of secret stuff going on; we're trying to outwit our competitors.
“We're after a player who is the same type of player one of our competitors is looking for, and we want to keep that as quiet as we can and complete the deal.”