Joe Cole is set to stay at Liverpool next season despite speculation over his future following a nightmare first year at Anfield.
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.
"There has been no firm interest in Joe and he is determined to prove he still has what it takes to play at the top level," a source told Goal.com. "He has had a good conversation with Kenny and they both agreed that he didn't perform well last season but still has the talent and desire to be a success at Liverpool.
"There was some talk of a season-long loan but nothing has emerged that would suit both the player and Liverpool."
Cole, who is believed to be keen to return to London, was signed by Roy Hodgson a year ago and has seen Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing arrive this summer to add further competition for midfield places at Anfield.
But he 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."
Cole is one of a number of players who have been tipped to leave Liverpool before the close of the transfer window as the Reds look to cut their wage bill and trim a squad that has become bloated in the midfield positions.
Director of football Damien Comolli is satisfied with the work the club has done so far this summer and is now focusing on selling unwanted players including Milan Jovanovic, Christian Poulsen, Alberto Aquilani and Emiliano Insua.
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