Coventry put £15m tag on Hartson

John Hartson (l) is unsure about his future

Coventry chairman Bryan Richardson says he will not let striker John Hartson leave the relegated club for less than £15m.

The burly striker, who joined the Sky Blues in a £5m pay-as-you-play deal from Wimbledon, has attracted interest from several clubs since the end of the season.

Celtic, Leicester and Middlesbrough have all been linked with the 26-year-old.

But Richardson said: "John Hartson is not for sale. We are determined to keep him.

"If any club would want to buy him they would have to compensate us for the price of the promotion to the Premiership, which is £15m."

Of course I want to be playing in the Premiership

  John Hartson

Yet the striker, who scored six goals in his last 12 matches for Coventry and nearly saved the club from relegation, indicated that he could be prised away from Highfield Road.

"I would never ask Coventry for a transfer and that is not in my mind at all. But of course I want to be playing in the Premiership," Hartson said.

"At the moment my only thought is reporting back for pre-season training with Coventry on 2 July.

"The truth is I honestly don't know what's going to happen about my future, but I've heard four or five clubs have expressed interest in me.

"I owe Gordon Strachan a lot. He showed a great deal of faith in me when other people would not take the risk. Over the summer I might have a lot of hard thinking to do.

"But I would never leave Coventry unless the deal was right for both me and Coventry.

"I'm really happy at Coventry and Gordon has been fantastic for me. Equally, I obviously want to play at as high a standard as possible.

"If a club do make a big offer for me, perhaps it will test Coventry's resolve as to whether they really want to turn down that sort of money for me."