Shaun Wright-Phillips vowed to stay at Chelsea next
season, despite fervent speculation linking him with a move away
from Stamford Bridge. The out-of-favour Blues winger has started
just three Premier League games since January as manager Avram
Grant has favoured Florent Malouda, Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou in
wide areas.
Wright-Phillips flew out to Moscow with the Chelsea squad this
morning but is not expected to feature on Wednesday against
Manchester United. Despite this latest snub, the 26-year-old
insists he is not tempted by reported interest from former club
Manchester City, Aston Villa and Newcastle and is happy to wait for
his in west London.
"I will definitely be at Chelsea next season," he said.
"Speculation has been like this since I was at Manchester City. "It
was going on for seven years before I left. "Then I came to Chelsea
and speculation has been going on for my whole time here and I have
still not left. "I have signed a contract (until summer 2010) and
I'm here to see it out."
Wright-Phillips was a first-team regular under former manager
Jose Mourinho but has played in just one Champions League match in
2008 and has seemingly fallen behind Blackburn¡¦s David Bentley in
the pecking order to replace David Beckham for England.
But Wright-Phillips said: "It's not been frustrating, most
definitely not. "Everybody is playing well and if everybody's
playing well, then that's the type of team you are in. "It's a big
squad where the players are world class. "So I just keep my head
down, keep working and then, when I get the chance, just play
well."
Wright-Phillips was speaking at the launch of the Shaun
Wright-Phillips Football Academy which offers week-long courses for
5 to 12-year-olds led by FA qualified coaches.
