Mutu staying put

Adrian Mutu has confirmed that he will be staying with Chelsea, saying that he never wanted to move to Juventus.

The former Parma man had looked set to return to Serie A with a season-long loan deal at Juve being lined up.

A move to Turin has not materialised as billionaire Blues owner Roman Abramovich stepped in at the last minute, insisting he wanted to keep Mutu.

The Russian wants Mutu to stay and reportedly held crisis talks with the player directly after their pre-season win over Real Zaragoza.

Mutu has now pledged his future to the West London side, saying that he will prove himself at Stamford Bridge this season.

"I have a great opportunity at Chelsea and am determined to take it," said Mutu.

"This is my declaration. I am staying at Chelsea, I am happy here and will prove myself on the pitch.

"I will show my commitment this season. You can judge me by what I do on the pitch and I will repay the fans with lots of goals. I am a true blue and will show my commitment on the field.

"I am not going anywhere and want everyone to know I'm staying at Chelsea.

"I have not changed my mind and never said I wanted to go to Juventus. I never wanted to leave Chelsea and am happy here."

Mutu made a bright start to his Chelsea career but quickly fell out of favour with the fans, but now wants to prove them wrong.

Monaco are also said to be interested in Mutu, but it now seems as though he will stay after Abramovich's intervention.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Joe Cole could miss the start of the season with an ankle injury.

The former West Ham man supposedly injured ankle ligaments in training and could miss Chelsea's season opener against Manchester United should tests prove the injury is serious.