Queens Park Rangers bid on both Christopher Samba and Andy Johnson in hopes of strengthening their squad to avoid relegation, but Blackburn and Fulham rejected the bids. QPR are currently on 17 points, one point clear of the drop zone with the third-worst goal difference in the league. Club chairman Tony Fernandes has made statements that imply that manager Neil Warnock's job may be on the line, turning up the pressure to improve the squad.

According to the Guardian, Blackburn turned down a £5 million bid from QPR for Samba, which is half of what they are demanding for the central defender and making QPR either silly or the Guardian's report very wrong. Tottenham Hotspur have also shown interest in Samba, but Blackburn insist that he will not be sold unless their price is met as they can ill afford to lose their best defender as they battle relegation.

Johnson will not be as tough to pry away as Samba because he is out of contract at the end of the year, but QPR didn't come close to matching Fulham's valuation anyways. They bid just £2 million for Johnson, making it easy for Fulham to turn it down.

"What's the point for us – for Fulham, for my club – to sell a player for that sort of money?" Fulham manager Martin Jol said. "To get somebody will cost a lot more money so for me there is no problem. He is still under contract so we have to wait and see.

"If somebody wants him they have to pay a good transfer fee so we can buy another good player. It would not be best for us to sell him to whatever club for a lower fee. Of course he will stay here and if he is not signing he can leave at the end of the season."