Watford manager Sean Dyche is adamant the permanent signing of Nyron Nosworthy does not mean Adrian Mariappa will be leaving the club in January.

Nosworthy was initially signed on loan as injury cover for Martin Taylor but his performances led to the Hornets making the switch permanent on Tuesday.

With the experienced Taylor closing in on a return to form, there were fears Nosworthy’s arrival was an indication that Mariappa was likely to be sold in January.

But Dyche stated: “No absolutely not. We are not expecting to sell any of our best players in this window.

“Obviously Cristiano Ronaldo was sold by Manchester United because someone met the asking price, so everyone has a price, but we do not have a remit to sell any of our players.

“If we do decide to sell a player then it will be after the board, the owner and myself have weighed up the offer.

“We want to keep hold of all our good players.”

One of the factors in the decision to buy Nosworthy is that Taylor has yet to sign a contract extension at Vicarage Road, with less than six months remaining on his current deal.

Dyche is also a strong believer that competition for places brings out the best in players and has purchased several players this season in a bid to strengthen his squad.

“Competition is the nature of the job; it is part and parcel of the game,” Dyche said.

“We wanted real competition for places, not just from youngsters but the demand of more rounded players.

“Initially there was Martin Taylor’s injury which kept him out long term and Martin also has a contractual situation which needs sorting out and we want a settled [centre back] partnership.”

Nosworthy signed a two-and-a-half year contract and the transfer fee was undisclosed.

One news outlet reported the fee was in the region of £750,000 but Dyche laughed off such claims, saying: “The idea of us paying that sort of fee is ridiculous. We are talking a minimal fee.”

Dyche praised Nosworthy, his agent, current Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill and ex-Black Cats manager Steve Bruce for helping to make the transfer possible.

One of the players linked with leaving the club is striker Marvin Sordell, who reached double figures on Saturday and put in an impressive all-round display.

When asked about the possibility of losing the player, Dyche replied: “Who knows what will happen. All we know is that we are in a better and stable position than we were because the finances have been organised accordingly.

“It doesn’t mean we can stave off every offer but we can stave off offers where we do not consider it to be enough. I think you could say that about any young player in the Championship, or any division.

“Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield striker) is another one. At the beginning of the season, arguably, you might have got him for £1m but not now. Marvin is another one.

“Marvin is playing well, scores goals and is attracting headlines. But he is becoming a real team player and I think you saw that against Bradford.

“The lads respect him and he respects the lads and the environment here, which is a really big thing for this club; respect, honesty, desire, passion.

“I have tried to build a system and a group of people here that believe in the old, moral standards that I was brought up with by my parents, and then you add in talent and Marvin has talent.”