DI MATTEO WANTS COLE TO SIGN

The Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo has said that he is extremely optimistic that Chelsea will be able to come to an agreement with the defender Ashley Cole over the possibility of extending his contract.

The 31-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season, while he will be able to talk with other clubs in January. Meanwhile, Frank Lampard is also out of contract at the end of the season. Chelsea have made it no secret of their desire to ship out on the older players last season. Players like Didier Drogba have left the club after not being offered a new contract.

There is a real danger that both Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard will also end up at that scenario, but the manager of the club Roberto di Matteo expressed his confidence that Ashley Cole will sign a new deal with the club. The defender recently scored the only goal of the game in the 1-0 win over Stoke city to put the blues top of the table after the weekend. It looked like the match was going to finish as a draw, but Cole stepped up in the 85th minute to score the winner.

"I'm very optimistic that it will be dealt with before that [January. He has become a legend - he is now Chelsea through and through. But I wouldn't say it's just happened recently. He's been here many years and has contributed a lot to this club. He's a fantastic pro, which I'm not sure whether you know. Somebody that's the first one out in training, one of the first into the building with JT [John Terry], trains every day like a professional, reliable, somebody that you could go to war with," said Roberto di Matteo after the match against Stoke city.

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