Hammers manager Sam Allardyce says the club are still in negotiations over the sale of Scott Parker, but he is more keen to find a replacement for him as well as bring in some more players to his squad.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce insists he will bring more players into the club this week as the exit of Hammer of the Year Scott Parker looms ever closer.

The midfielder was left out of West Ham’s squad for the 4-1 win at Nottingham Forest as negotiations continued with Tottenham Hotspur over a move, but Allardyce is more concerned about the squad he will be left with when the transfer window closes.

“I think the negotiation is about where the fee lies and where the replacement lies because it is very difficult to replace Scott Parker if I’ve got two weeks, it’s even more difficult if I’ve only got two days,” said Allardyce.

“It is the closest negotiation we have had this summer. Whether it is achievable I’m not sure yet. I’ve had a lot of conversations with the chairman, but have had to break away from that because the most important thing was the Forest game.”

It is believed that Spurs have offered West Ham �5million for Parker, with the choice of either Jermaine Jenas or Jake Livermore, and though the Hammers would prefer a straight cash deal, Allardyce himself feels they need a replacement.

“We have a very talented player who has a certain value in our eyes,” said the manager. “If he does actually leave in the end, then I need to replace him as quickly as I possibly can, with not just one player, possibly two.”

With just a couple of days until the end of the window, Allardyce feels that he still needs to add players to his squad.

“I don’t anticipate any others leaving before Wednesday unless we get a miraculously high bid for some of our quality players,” he said.

“I’m more interested in strengthening the squad because we are short on numbers. We are down to what I consider 17 outfield players and that won’t be enough to compete for as long as we have to in this league.

“I’ve done my homework and looked at the last three seasons and the teams automatically promoted have played between 29 and 33 players in that one season.

“We really need to add a few more players to the squad and obviously ones with the right quality.”

Allardyce stresses that he has enough cover in goal and up front, but he is looking to strengthen in all other areas of the field.

“There is a need for defensive players because we’ve got Herita Ilunga injured at the moment and we’ve only got Abdoulaye Faye who is a natural defender. We haven’t got another left back, only George McCartney, so our defensive cover is pretty weak at the moment,” said the manager.

“If Scott Parker goes our midfield is light on numbers, not on quality and in wide positions we could also do with another player.”