Pardew: Defoe won't be leaving

Alan Pardew insists the capture of Marlon Harewood will not signal Jermain Defoe's departure from West Ham.

Harewood arrived at Upton Park on Tuesday from Nottingham Forest but his signing raised question marks over Defoe's future at the club.

Defoe has been strongly linked with a New Year exit from The Hammers with Manchester United and Arsenal purportedly on his trail.

But despite Pardew splashing out £500,000 to bring Harewood to the club, the Hammers boss is adamant it does not mean he has to cash in on Defoe.

Instead, Pardew is relishing the prospect of the England Under-21 international playing a prominent role in the club's push for a swift return to The Premiership.

"I think that the speculation around was that (selling Defoe) was always going to be the case but that is not true," Pardew told the club's website.

"Marlon has been brought in because I wanted to add something down our right side.

"It is quite mouth-watering thinking of him, (David) Connolly and Defoe in the same team, and there is big Deano, Neil Mellor and Richard Garcia backing that up, so I am excited by that.

"And I am assured that I don't need to sell him in the window, so I am hoping now to have the firepower to take us up.

"I can only be reassured by the board and can only go by what I have found."