"I would have thought Michael would be in our plans for next season," he said.
"He's a top-quality player and that's what the club have been bringing in."
Ballack suffered an injury-hit start to this season but underlined his importance to Chelsea with two goals in their fourth round FA Cup win over Ipswich Town on Saturday.
He joined the club on a free transfer from Bayern Munich in 2006 and has scored 20 goals in 95 appearances.
Bookmark with:
What are these?