Under-fire Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has insisted his future remains at Old Trafford despite widespread criticism of his recent performances.
The 28-year-old has produced a series of below-par performances this season and was heavily criticised for his poor display in last Saturday's Manchester derby defeat to City.
Alex Ferguson's decision to splash out £12 million on defensive reinforcements Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra has only heightened speculation over Silvestre, whose current contract has 18 months to run.
There has been speculation the former Inter Milan man may leave Old Trafford this month, with French league leaders Lyon believed to be interested. However, Silvestre claims he is going nowhere and is determined to retain his first-team spot despite the extra competition.
"I am not on the transfer list and I am not going to leave Manchester during the winter break," he told L'Equipe. "I don't care what people say. I feel I am efficient. I play almost all the matches, my future is at Manchester United and that is where I am planning to stay."
Silvestre has made 314 appearances for United since his arrival from Inter in 1999, initially at left-back, then alongside Rio Ferdinand in central defence. During that time, he has collected three Premiership titles and an FA Cup.
Silvestre admits overall performances this season have been no better than average, a situation which is not good enough at a club of United's size.
"Bowing out from the Champions League before the last 16 was a huge failure," he said. "We are too irregular, we display good performances against big sides and we lack collective spirit against smaller teams. But we have two competitions to win (the FA Cup and the League Cup) on top of doing well in the league. We can still save our season."
United and Chelsea are on red alert following confirmation Mahamadou Diarra is hoping for a move to the Premiership next season. Diarra has made an outstanding contribution to Lyon's rise to the top of the French league this term, as well as their smooth passage into the knockout phase of the Champions League.
But the 24-year-old is hoping to find a fresh challenge in the summer, his adviser Frederic Guerra admitting a move to Spain or Italy is a possibility.
However, it is the lure of England which attracts the Mali man most - and with Chelsea potentially looking for back-up to Claude Makelele and Manchester United ready to step up their interest after making an initial inquiry last summer, Guerra thinks a dream switch to the Premiership is most likely.
"The Premiership is, by far, his favourite league," Guerra told www.skysports.com. "I can't confirm that he will play there next year, but he would like to. Mahamadou is the best defensive midfielder in Europe. We know that Chelsea are looking for a player to replace Claude Makelele, who is getting older. Last summer there was contact with Manchester United, and we also know that Manchester United are looking for a defensive midfielder to replace Roy Keane."
While Ferguson is unlikely to confirm any interest in Diarra, at least until the summer, the player does fit the age profile of United's most recent signings. Ferguson has already ruled out Thomas Gravesen and Michael Ballack because they are too old.
