There are strong indications that Chelsea football club are
poised to end a 9-year romance with Nigerian International
John Obi Mikel.
This comes on the heels of a report on Tuttomercatoweb
and made available to AfricanFootball.com that the London
side are ready to splash as much as 30 million pounds to
sign Blaise Matuidi from PSG as replacement for the Nigeria
star.
According to the reports, Mourinho is keen to land a deal for
Matuidi likewise ready to show Mikel the exit door after the
midfielder long spell at the club.
Blaise Matuidi easily beats Mikel to a ball at the World Cup
second round game between Nigeria Vs France
Manchester United and Chelsea were both linked with the
player over the summer, but neither ramped up initial
interest in his services.
Mikel has been at Chelsea since 2006 and made over 200
Premier League appearances for the four-time champions.
Reports had earlier surfaced that Chelsea manager Jose
Mourinho noted on the Club’s pre-season trip, that duo of
John Obi Mikel and John Terry are now the only players
who bridge the gap between his trophy-laden first and
second spells as Chelsea manager and acknowledges that
having a serial winner like Mikel around the group can only
be beneficial.
But the 28-year-old time at Chelsea seems to be up
following new reports of a move away from Stamford
Bridge.
Many Nigerians will remember Matuidi from last year’s
World Cup when he kicked out Ogenyi Onazi out of the
second round match against France in Brazil.
Matuidi dangerous tackle on Onazi at the World Cup in
Brazil
An apologetic Matuidi is shown just a yellow card for his
bad tackle on Onazi
Onazi stretched out
Shortly after Onazi was taken out, France responded with
two goals from Paul Pogba and own goal from Joseph Yobo
to knock out the Super Eagles side led by ex-coach Stephen
Keshi.
Matuidi, 28, is contracted to PSG until 2018, and would
command a fee upwards of £30m.
Matuidi has been with the French champions since a 2011
move from St-Etienne.