Darren Bent
Purported Liverpool target Darren Bent will not be sold in January. REUTERS

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has admitted he is unlikely to sell any of his current squad during the current transfer window, amid speculation linking Darren Bent with a move to Liverpool.

Bent, 27, is a reported transfer target for Reds' boss Kenny Dalglish as he looks to bolster his strike-force during the January window.

Liverpool have struggled for goals since Luis Suarez started his eight-game ban and reports earlier in the month suggested Dalglish was weighing up an approach for England international Bent but McLeish insists he will not sanction the sale of any player unless he received a substantial offer.

"Am I wanting to do [transfer] business? I am not pushing. I am not in any hurry to lose any of my players," McLeish is quoted in the Daily Mail.

"Only if it was an attractive proposition would we do anything so it's very unlikely we would let any of our players go.

"I am happy with my squad. Like very other manager in the world, we're all greedy for players. If we had our way, we'd probably have 100 players at our disposal.

"But I certainly think it's a strong squad, a lot of young players who have learnt a lot over the past few months, and that augurs well as we go into the second half of the season."

Earlier this week, former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar revealed that the club were close to completing the signings of two strikers, after the club drew another blank at the weekend.

The Reds were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Stoke on Saturday, the seventh time they have failed to collect all three points at Anfield this season.

Kenny Dalglish's side have now scored just eight goals in their last nine Premier League games and, with Luis Suarez suspended for eight games, the onus has fallen on strikers Dirk Kuyt, Andy Carroll and Craig Bellamy to shoulder the Liverpool's goal-scoring responsibility.

However, the trio have scored just six times between them this season and with Liverpool's hopes of securing a top-four finish diminishing by the week, Dalglish is believed to be prepared to enter the transfer market to bolster his side's attacking threat.

And Liverpool legend Grobbelaar has revealed Dalglish is keeping close tabs on two strikers, with a view to securing both players before the end of the month.

"There are two strikers [Liverpool are interested in]," Grobbelaar told talkSPORT. "I know that [Kenny Dalglish] is looking at a South American striker who is playing in Holland and I know that he's quite close in getting another striker.

"I'm not going to be the one to actually tell you who, but I'm sure that the striker will be arriving soon."