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BRENDAN RODGERS insists he would need to be a “nut case” to let Andy Carroll leave Liverpool FC considering the current lack of strikers at Anfield.

The Reds boss wants to boost his attacking options before the transfer window shuts next week and says as it stands selling Carroll is out of the question.

Newcastle remain keen on taking the big frontman back to the North East but have failed to improve their initial offer of signing him on a season-long loan with a view to a £12million permanent deal next summer.

Rodgers says there is “no chance” of the club having second thoughts as the deadline nears and agreeing to such an arrangement.

With Luis Suarez rested, Carroll is set to start tonight's Europa League play-off first leg against Hearts but his involvement at Tynecastle is subject to a fitness test on a tight hamstring.

“I need a minimum of three strikers,” said Rodgers.

“I have got Luis Suarez, Fabio Borini and Andy Carroll. Once the window shuts, that is it until January.

“I would need to be a nut case to even consider at this moment letting Andy Carroll go out, unless there are other solutions for that. At the moment there isn’t.

“There is absolutely no chance – and certainly not Newcastle. Newcastle got £35million for this player last year. To even consider wanting to take him on loan is a liberty really.

“Andy has been working well. He knows the situation, like the rest of the group do, and we will take it from there.

“He's due to start against Hearts but he has felt a slight twinge, so we have had it looked at and scanned. We will see what his response is over the next 24 hours. If he is available and fit, he will start.”

Rodgers admits he's concerned about the lack of depth in his squad but is hoping to rectify that before the window shuts.

Fabio Aurelio, Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez, Alberto Aquilani and Craig Bellamy all left the club this summer with Fabio Borini, Joe Allen and Oussama Assaidi the only new arrivals.

“We have got a very small squad,” he said. “We have lost a lot of players this summer and I have not been able to replace them as of yet. That is the reality of where we are.

“I hope we will be able to bring some players in. I had a target list of players and people that I wanted to bring in. That was always conditional because of the monies that had already been paid out here.

“The club are working very hard behind the scenes to manage that process to allow us to get some players in. But in terms of the depth, it is nowhere near where I would want it to be.

“I can’t wave a magic wand to bring players in and get players out. There is still a wee bit of time left and hopefully come the end of August we will be ready to go on with the group that we want.”

That group is set to include Daniel Agger. There has been no more dialogue with Manchester City whose initial approach for the Danish defender was rebuffed and Rodgers is planning for the future with him.

He added: “I can’t see anything at this stage. Daniel is not a player that I want to lose.

“Like every player in the group, if someone comes in with a big, big offer then that might be out of my hands in relation to the club and where it is at with finances.

“But I have never thought that I was going to lose Daniel. Firstly, he is fantastic in how he plays and how he functions. Secondly he doesn’t want to go, which is great news for everyone. I wouldn’t see us losing Daniel.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool youngsters Raheem Sterling and Adam Morgan have been named in the England Under-19s squad to face Germany in Hamburg on Thursday, September 6.

Sterling is expected to start against Hearts tonight and Morgan could also feature, especially if Carroll fails to prove his fitness.