Santa Cruz not for sale, says Allardyce

BLACKBURN manager Sam Allardyce has put a £40m price tag on wantaway striker Roque Santa Cruz.

The Paraguay international has stated his desire to leave Ewood Park and Manchester City manager Mark Hughes, who signed the player for Rovers from Bayern Munich last season, has had two bids rejected already.

Allardyce has always insisted he does not have to sell Santa Cruz – it was one of the issues he wanted chairman John Williams to clarify before he took over from Paul Ince last month.

And with City’s last bid, believed to be £16m, not meeting his valuation and a fortnight remaining in the transfer window the Rovers boss claims it is a “certainty” the player will not be leaving this month.

“The bottom line is, we don’t want to sell Roque Santa Cruz,” said Allardyce, whose side’s 3-0 victory over Newcastle at the weekend lifted them out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.

“The money is no good to me at this stage of the season. There’s £40m at stake to stay in the Premier League per year and I don’t think anyone is going to offer us £40m for Santa Cruz.”

When asked if he would sell for £40m, Allardyce said: “I think I’d have to. I don’t think the board would take too kindly to me saying ‘No, I’m still not taking that’.”

Despite his stance on Santa Cruz – who made his first appearance in five matches as a substitute against Newcastle – Allardyce has been linked with a number of strikers as way of a replacement should the Paraguayan leave.

Salzburg’s 6ft 5ins striker Marc Janko and Atletico Madrid forward Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who spent three months on loan with Rovers from Liverpool in 2006, are two names mentioned.