Forest reject 'derisory' Newcastle bid for Perch

BILLY Davies today insisted James Perch is not for sale at any price, after revealing Nottingham Forest had rejected a 'derisory bid' from Newcastle for the player.

The Reds boss warned that the club are not prepared to listen to further offers for the defender or midfielder – and particularly not from one of their promotion rivals.

"They have made an offer for James, but it is a derisory offer and the bottom line is that he is not for sale anyway," said Davies.

"We are not interested in selling James at any price, particularly not to one of our rivals in the Championship.

"As I said, the offer was derisory, but it doesn't matter because he is not somebody we want to sell.

"We do not want to sell any of our players. We want to strengthen our squad, not weaken it."

Davies insists the versatile product of the City Ground academy is an important part of his future plans.

"James has not featured very much this season, but that is purely because he has been injured and, during the time he has been out, I have said all along that we have missed him. He is a vital member of this squad," he said.

"I guess we have got a few people worried."