KEVIN Nolan believes Tal Ben Haim is keen to sign a new contract with Wanderers.

The Israel international, whose current deal runs out at the end of the season, has been hotly-tipped as a target for Chelsea in the January transfer window.

But Nolan says the 24-year-old defender would prefer to stay at the Reebok.

"I think Tal wants to stay at Bolton," he said. "He has done well since he came to us and he has been well looked after."

However the Bolton skipper has warned that repeated transfer speculation can be unsettling for some players, if they believe what they read.

"The transfer window can be a tough time for some players, especially those who are out of contract in the summer," the Wanderers skipper wrote in his regular column on the BBC website.

"They are inevitably linked with numerous clubs and this can be quite unsettling.

We have a couple of players in that situation - Tal Ben Haim being one of them. Lots of different papers are linking him with different clubs.

"At training we tend to try to make a bit of a joke out of it, telling him that we are sick of him and that now the transfer window is open we might be able to get rid of him!

"But, although Tal might be going through a bit of a tough time sorting out the right contract for him, his team-mates will not be making it any worse by constantly asking if he is going to sign a new deal."

Nolan says players are the last to know about the comings and goings on the transfer front.

He added: "Several times the manager has introduced me to a new signing and, in my capacity as captain, asked me to introduce him to the rest of the team. That initial meeting will be the first I'll have known about him."

Portsmouth manager, Harry Redknapp, says he has not made a bid for Ben Haim or his fellow Israeli international, Yossi Benayoun, who is unsettled at West Ham.

"I can't see either of them moving, except to Chelsea," he said.