West Ham have gone on the record over stories in The Sun that they have made a move for Palace striker Christian Benteke.

We too had been told by an agent a move could be on the cards but the reality is that the club has rejected such a proposition via an agent who explained Palace’s position .

The former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker at 31 is very much available according to intermediaries but the Irons made it clear they had no interest in the front man.

A source explained to us  that no such deal was ever on and that there was absolutely no chance of it happening.

We were told by an insider: “An agent contacted us to ask if we were interested as Palace were ready to let the striker leave on a free loan but we explained that there was no interest at at our end and that we were looking in other directions.”