Source: PA
Wilkins confident Cole will stay
Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins insists Joe Cole will remain at the club despite reports of a rift between the England midfielder and owner Roman Abramovich.
It has been suggested Cole and his representatives have infuriated the Russian with their hard line stance over wages during contract negotiations.
Cole's current contract expires this summer and there is growing speculation he will quit Stamford Bridge. The midfielder is understood to want in excess of £100,000 a week but he has failed to regularly start in Carlo Ancelotti's side since returning from a serious knee injury last September.
But Wilkins remains confident Cole's contract situation will eventually be resolved and that the player still has a chance of featuring in Fabio Capello's England plans for the World Cup finals this summer.
"We are desperate to keep Joe," said Wilkins. "I know the club are and we as a management group feel the same. He is a very valuable asset to us. It is a contractual situation that he and the club I am sure will sort out at a later stage. We sincerely hope he will be here next season. We would love to keep Joe. I am sure he and the club will sort it out."
Wilkins also remains convinced Cole can find a way back into Capello's plans and added: "If he continues to work in the way he is in training and the game time he will get from here on in, I see no reason why he shouldn't."
