Sinclair: No Hammers deal yet

West Ham have denied that their England star Trevor Sinclair is on the verge of signing a new contract.

Sinclair, who was on the transfer list earlier this season, was rumoured to have agreed a new deal but managing director Paul Aldridge said: "That's not true. We've had a meeting with Trevor's representatives but there's still a lot of discussion to be done and certainly nothing is imminent at this stage."

Meanwhile, manager Glenn Roeder today added his praise to his midfield player Joe Cole following his second-half performance against Paraguay.

"Joe's a special player but he is a young player," said Roeder. "I would love Joe, Michael Carrick, Trevor Sinclair and David James all to go to the World Cup because it is a special experience. I thought the criticism of Joe after the Italy game was unjust. You can deal with criticism in various ways but Joe will have learned a lot from that experience."

Cole's midfield partner Carrick has recovered from an injury he sustained in the dying seconds of the England Under-21 international against Portugal on Tuesday, while veteran Nigel Winterburn looks likely to replace Vladimir Labant at left-back for tomorrow's game against Sunderland at Upton Park.

Sunderland have several senior players struggling to be fit. They include Jason McAteer, who picked up a groin strain while training with the Republic of Ireland in midweek, skipper Michael Gray (back), Patrick Mboma (ankle), Kevin Phillips (stomach) and Niall Quinn (neck).

Long-term absentees Emerson Thome and Julio Arca will also be missing.

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