Barnet boss Martin Allen says the Bees will not sell top-scorer John Akinde or any other players unless a ridiculous offer is made for their services.

The January transfer window opens at midnight tomorrow (Wednesday) and after hitting 23 goals in all competitions, Akinde is one of Bees' prized assets.

However speaking on the BBC's Non-League Show, Allen ruled out the possibility of Akinde or anyone else leaving the club next month.

He said: "No, we have had a chat with the chairman and there is no need for the club to sell anybody, unless it is a ridiculous offer.

"There is more and more people coming to watch him (Akinde) and I think he needs to spend more time with me. I do work him hard, I do push him hard and in the future he has got plenty of time for his rewards to come."

Allen added: "Barnet are not going to be selling him in January, that is for sure."

The 25-year-old followed his hat-trick against Aldershot Town on Boxing Day with the equaliser against Dover Athletic on Sunday and now has 23 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions for the Bees.

Akinde has scored seven in his last five, netting in five consecutive games from the end of November and through December.

Speaking after the draw against Dover, Allen threw down the gauntlet to his number nine: "You just can tell he is going to get 35 goals minimum and it not only that. Off the pitch he is a nice, good person to be working with and for me to know. I really like him.

"He has settled down physically, mentally he is in a much better place, he is a much better player than he was. Eighteen goals for Alfreton Town when they were playing part time probably did him good and now with me full time and the way we play, it suits him down to the ground.

"Let’s not kid ourselves. When John is fresh and at it, he just unplayable. It does not matter who he is playing against, he is a colossus; he is amazing. He has come so far from where he was a few years ago when he went from Ebbsfleet into the Football League."

Akinde's 21 league goals mean he trails Gary Bull by nine goals as the Bees' highest-scorer in a single Conference season. Bull hit 30 in 42 games in the 1990/91 season - one more than Giuliano Grazioli managed in 2004/05 when Barnet last lifted the Conference title.