BREDE HANGELAND is staying at Fulham.

The Norwegian central defender has made it plain he has no intention of leaving the Premier club riding high in seventh place - and slammed recent comments attributed to him over a so-called 'derisory' new contract offer.

And the Norw eg ian international captain admitted talks over a new deal planning to keep him at Fulham until 2013 were ongoing, but brushed aside the notion he was off to the likes of Arsenal or Liverpool in a £5million deal during the summer.

He said: "I've said all along I'm happy at Fulham - and I believe we can reach an agreement.

"They've said they're happy with what I've done - and I'm happy with the club, and there's no reason to think otherwise that I'll be leaving.

"I've never made any comments about the negotiations - and I never will.

"So if you read something about me having said something - it's not true."

Fulham have the fourth-best defensive record in the top flight. And a huge chunk of the reason why is down to the 6ft 5in player.

Since he arrived from FC Copenhagen 16 months ago, Hangeland has piled up almost as many column inches for his club's success as his height.

He is also more than aware that a result at Chelsea down the Fulham Road on Saturday will inch his team that much closer to a Europa League place next season.

He said: "Normally, you would

say you're in for a particularly difficult game when you go to Chelsea - but considering our recent form I think we can go there and get something.

"We still have a lot to play for. Although at the beginning of the season we were

hoping to avoid having to play for anything at this time of the year - because it might have been another relegation battle.

"But now we have a great chance of Europe. How many points do we need to get there? Who knows?

One of the reasons we've got this high is not looking very far forward."

This week Hangeland also attended the ECHO Scheme at The Oval to promote healthy lifestyles. Asked by primary school kids who his favourite Fulham player was, he revealed: Danny Murphy - and asked what it was like to be rich, he drew the contents out of his jeans pocket, £1.02 in change.