Blackpool have rejected a transfer request handed in by captain Charlie Adam on Monday.
The 25-year-old Scot handed in the request after the Seasiders rejected a four-million-pound bid for his services from Liverpool on Saturday, the third time the club had knocked back an offer for the player after earlier interest from Aston Villa and Birmingham.
Blackpool manager Ian Holloway said Liverpool would need to up their bid in order to prise Adam away from Bloomfield Road.
“If I was the Liverpool manager I would want to buy him because they have never replaced Xabi Alonso,” said Holloway.
“But you have to come up with the right amount of money. I don’t want to stand in his way, but they have to put up or shut up.”
And despite the midfielder handing in the transfer request, Holloway said there was no way he would drop Adam for Blackpool’s match against Manchester United on Tuesday,
“Not a chance,” Holloway said. “If I tried to stop that boy playing against Manchester United, he would probably kill me.”
“Charlie loves this club and just because he puts a transfer request in doesn’t change that.”
Adam joined Blackpool from Rangers in August 2009 and was a key figure in getting the club promoted into the Premier League last season.
He has played a key role in Blackpool’s impressive campaign that sees them sit 12th in the league standings, scoring four goals in 21 matches.