Cole willing to stay at Liverpool

Joe Cole is set to stay at Liverpool next season despite speculation over his future following a nightmare first year at Anfield, it has been reported.

The midfielder told manager Kenny Dalglish he will fight for his place in the team when the pair held honest talks before the Reds squad flew out for a pre-season tour to the Far East earlier this month.

Cole, 29, had previously been made aware that Liverpool would look to sell him this season and he has been linked with a number of clubs including Hamburg, Tottenham and a return to West Ham on loan.

The former England international was even willing to take a pay cut on his £90,000-a-week wages to reignite his career having made just eight Premier League starts last season following his high profile free transfer from Chelsea.

Now it has become increasingly clear that Cole's options are limited and he has told Dalglish he believes he can find the form and fitness that eluded him last term as he was disrupted by niggling injuries.

The Scot has always praised Cole's professionalism and has insisted that the attacking midfielder, who is under contract until 2014, has a future at the club.

Cole has impressed in pre-season and was singled out for praise last week by assistant manager Steve Clarke, whom he worked with at Chelsea during the most productive period of his career.

"At the end of last season he was not getting in the team because the team was playing well," explained Clarke. "But he has trained hard and gone away and had a good summer. Joe Cole is a top international player. He has got a big contribution to make to the future.

"He is the same Joe Cole I coached at Chelsea, just a couple of years older and a little wiser. He has always had this same fantastic attitude. He knows the position he is in. It has been difficult for him because he has not been involved but, when he gets the chance, it is up to him to take it."

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