Hughes adamant over Bentley stay
by Tom Adams, 15 May 2008
Mark Hughes insists he will not be coerced into selling David Bentley this summer, even if the Blackburn Rovers star rejects the offer of a new contract at Ewood Park.
It looks set to be a busy summer of speculation for the England international who has been strongly linked with both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur after enjoying another extremely impressive season for Rovers.
The noncommittal tone in which Bentley has spoken about his own future has done little to dampen suggestions that he could leave Blackburn but the club have offered him a new contract in an attempt to convince him that his future will be best served in Lancashire.
Even if Bentley decides against signing the deal on offer though, Hughes will feel under no pressure to sell his star midfielder given the player’s current contract still has three years to run.
Furthermore, the Rovers boss has denied press reports which stated the club have established an asking price for the former Arsenal man.
"We've offered David a new contract to reward him for the season he has just had,” said Hughes in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.
"If he doesn't sign it then it's not a problem, we'll just stay as we are and move forward.
"We'll probably have to put up with a lot of speculation about David's situation over the summer, but I've said it so many times now that I'm sure everyone is clear about my view on it. We haven't put a price on his head, and we are not going to.
"Some people in the papers are trying to say that we've actually stated a price that we'd accept, but that isn't the case - it's inaccurate.
"So we are as we were. If David doesn't want to sign, and keep with the status quo, then that's fine - we'll carry on as we were before. We don't have to sell."
Having narrowly missed out on qualifying for European football this season, Rovers could be looking to tinker with their playing staff in an attempt to close the gap on Aston Villa and Everton.
Hughes is adamant he will not be selling his star names though, with top scorer Roque Santa Cruz also linked with a move away in recent weeks.
"I need to add to the quality here, not take quality away," Hughes continued.
"Okay, I might be able to get a certain amount of money for any given player in the squad, but are you able to replace that quality with similar quality for the same price? It's difficult.
"I'd rather keep what I know, and keep the players that I've worked with, because they understand what I want and you don't have to start the process from a low point again, and build up to the point where you've had players with you for two or three years, which is where we are now.
"So it doesn't make sense to let players go, certainly when I don't have to."