Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's current club Inter Milan are the latest side to be linked with the player, with midfielder Sulley Muntari claiming Essien would be an ideal addition to their squad.

But Scolari insists he wants to keep the Ghanaian, who is currently battling to regain fitness after damaging his cruciate knee ligament in September.

The Chelsea boss said: "Inter, AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid all want Essien but he is injured and he is at Chelsea.

"If I stay for three years I don't want him out, I want him to stay with me.

"This is because he is very good player who can play in five positions very well. He is young and dedicated. He is our player and I think he is happy here."

Despite rumours of a return in January, the 25-year-old is not setting a specific date for a comeback.

But Scolari believes it could be sooner rather than later as Essien, who had been expected to be out for most of the season, is working overtime to be fit.

He said: "Michael Essien is good news for me everyday. He is recovering quicker than we thought.

"He comes here at 10.30 in the morning and doesn't go until four in the afternoon. He tries to come back early. It is good for us. He is a fantastic example for other players.

"I don't want to put pressure on him but I think we will have good news sooner than we expected."

Scolari has been handed another injury boost with the news that Ricardo Carvalho should be back from a knee injury just after Christmas.

"The doctor says to me maybe 14 days more minimum. Maybe Ricardo will be fit for the games over Christmas on December 26 or 28," Scolari added.

Scolari, meanwhile, insists is more concerned with staying on track for the Premier League title than setting a new record for away wins in the top flight.

Beating Bolton at the Reebok on Saturday would enable Chelsea to overtake Tottenham's record of 10 straight away wins which they set 48 years ago.

But Scolari maintains earning three points to make up for those lost against Arsenal last week remains uppermost in his mind.

"I don't think about the record," said Scolari. "I think only about the three points we lost at home last Sunday.

"We need to recover those three points. We try to win one more game to follow the other clubs in the best position.

"That is important for us, not the record. Points are more important than the record. The players don't think about records.

"They're thinking about finishing first or getting into finals.

Nothing more. But if we win 20 games away and lose 10 games at home, there's a record away from home but it's all about arriving at the main objective."

With Didier Drogba serving the last match of a suspension, the game against Bolton provides in-form striker Nicolas Anelka with another chance to shine against the club he left in January.

It will be his first return to the Reebok since his £15million move to Stamford Bridge and Scolari insists the striker will not be affected by any adverse reaction from the home fans.

"Anelka tries to do his best every game," said Scolari. "Sometimes he scores for us, other times he works very well for us.

"He's a man in good fitness, he tries to do every training and tries to do his best for us.

"If some fans say something about Anelka, this or that, I have confidence in him.

"At this stage of his career, it's a good chance to prove that he's a very good player and so far, he's taking that chance."