Gianfranco Zola has moved to assure nervous West Ham supporters that influential striker Carlton Cole will not be sold in the January transfer window. Reports had suggested Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would look to beef up his strikeforce with a new year raid on Upton Park for the England international, while Liverpool have also been credited with an interest in the 26-year-old. However, Zola has insisted Cole, who will return from a hamstring injury for Saturday's crunch trip to take on fellow strugglers Hull in the Premier League, is happy to remain in east London. He said: "I know Carlton is happy here. I know the club have no intention of selling any of our important players. "There is a lot of speculation and I know that a lot of messages coming out are not true. I don't want to pay attention to it."