John Obi Mikel’s 11 years at Chelsea are finally coming to an end, with the Nigerian midfielder apparently set to undergo a medical with Chinese club Tianjin TEDA today.
According to today’s Daily Mail, the offers from Valencia, Marseille and Inter Milan were not taken up, and now the player will be going East to earn £140,000 a week. Mikel is 29, and has been offered a three year deal in Tianjin. Any fee to Chelsea would be minimal, as the player on has 6 months left on his current deal.
Having fallen behind Nemanja Matic, CescFabregas and Nat Chalobah in the pecking order for a two man midfield, the former Lyn Oslo man has not featured in the Premier League for the Blues this season, and his transfer has become a matter of “when and where” rather than “if”.
Mikel became a true cult hero at Chelsea over his imprssive 11 year span, and there will be genuine sadness around the Bridge once this deal is tied up.
