Frank Lampard's agent, Steve Kutner, has denied the midfielder is close to signing a new contract at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea's chief executive, Peter Kenyon, said the club were "well down the line" with contract talks.

Kenyon suggested yesterday Lampard was close to committing his long-term future to Chelsea as he painted a positive picture following Saturday's defeat at Liverpool and amid tension between Jose Mourinho and the board. Kutner said: "I had talks with Peter before Christmas and I'm planning to have talks with him fairly soon and that's where we are. At the moment it's a long way off.

"(Lampard) has two years left and it's down to Peter to talk to me, which I'm very happy to do." Kutner added: "I had a nice lunch with him before Christmas and hopefully he will take me for another nice lunch soon. I think the ball is firmly in Chelsea's court because of the length of time Frank has on his contract and, as has been widely reported, there is a Fifa ruling that if he wants to leave he could. But that's nowhere near his mind at the moment."

Kutner was referring to legislation that allows Lampard to buy out his contract from May. He added the possibility of Mourinho leaving was not a factor in negotiations. "Frank never gets involved," he said. "All he's interested in is trying to win everything for Chelsea."

Kenyon is confident Lampard will stay. He told BBC Radio Five Live that talks were well progressed with Lampard, John Terry and Michael Essien. "I think it's fair to say both John and Frank, we're well down the line with new contracts for them that will keep them at the club for a substantial (period), if not the rest of their playing life," he said.

"That's a great position to be in and that would be a big boost for everyone. We'd normally not start those discussions until the end of the season, but we think it's important to get those in place before we start next season's activities."

Chelsea are at home to Wycombe tomorrow in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final but it is understood the club's owner, Roman Abramovich, who missed Saturday's game, may also miss this crucial tie. He is in Moscow on business. ... Guardian Service