Big spending Monaco target Chelsea midfielder
The big-spending French side have already been busy in the transfer market signing the likes of Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho, could Mikel be their next target?
Turkish sides Galatasaray and Trabzonspor are also reportedly keen on the 26-year-old and he could fetch around £16m which could be put towards a move for former Blue Nemanja Matic and bring him back to West London.
Mikel recently admitted that a footballer’s future is never really certain:
“I have a four-year contract with Chelsea, but you know, in football you can never guess, one day you are here, the next day you might leave.”
(Metro)
I’m a fan of Mikel and often argue that he gets a lot of undue stick and is largely under appreciated but like any player, if the money is right then he’ll probably move on.
He’s a valuable commodity having won just about everything he can do with Chelsea at a young age and is on a long-term contract. Despite not always being appreciated by fans and pundits he’s been in the plans of top managers like Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti, so selling him wouldn’t be something the club would decide on lightly.
The Nigerian didn’t have the best of campaigns last season as he was dreadful upon his return from the African Cup of Nations bar a world-class performance in the second half of our FA Cup game against Manchester United at Old Trafford. His form for his country has been promising though and he remains the only proper defensive midfielder in the squad, he just needs better competition to push him.
If he was to go then replacing him with someone young like Matic would be preferable to bringing in an elder statesman like Daniele De Rossi, even though I’ve always admired the Italian.
We shall see what the future holds for Mikel but this could be one for Mourinho to ponder.
Source: Metro