Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits he would have to be "a nutcase" to let England striker Andy Carroll leave the club on loan.
Rodgers is willing to sell Carroll after deciding the burly targetman won't fit into his smooth passing style, but the Reds boss is frustrated that Newcastle and West Ham have so far tried to sign him on the cheap.
West Ham were keen on a season-long loan deal which would have included the chance to sign the 23-year-old striker on a permanent basis if he was a hit at Upton Park, while Newcastle, who sold Carroll to Liverpool for £35 million ($55.6 million) in January 2011, made a low offer believed to be around £15 million.
Rodgers knows money is tight at Anfield this year and he has no intention of missing out on the chance to bring in a sizeable sum for Carroll, which he could then reinvest in new signings.
"There is absolutely no chance (of a loan deal) and certainly not Newcastle," Rodgers said in several British newspapers on Thursday.
"Newcastle got £35 million for this player last year. To even consider wanting to take him on loan is a liberty really.
"We have got a very small squad as it is. We have lost a lot of players this summer and I have not replaced them, as of yet. That is the reality of where we are.
"I need a minimum of three strikers. Once the window shuts, that is it until January. I have got (Luis) Suarez, Fabio Borini, and Andy Carroll.
"I would need to be a nutcase even to consider at this moment to let Carroll go out, unless there are other solutions for that."