Nigerian midfield superstar, John Mikel Obi was on the cusp of summer switch to Turkish club, Besiktas, until Chelsea hierarchy pulled the plug on the move and decided to keep him after failing in their bid to sign French international, Paul Pogba, it has been revealed.
The Blues lunched an audacious bid for the highly-rated Juventus midfielder to share the midfield workload with Nemanja Matic, but were forced to hold on to Mikel as the Serie A champions declined to sell their star player. According to Turkish outlet Radyospor, Mikel was happy to make the move to Besiktas, only for Jose Mourinho to cancel the move in the aftermath of his side’s failure to capture Pogba.
Though, the long-serving Nigerian is no longer guaranteed of a regular playing time in the Chelsea star-studded squad, he is still viewed as a valuable backup player over the course of this season.
By Olisemeka Obeche
[divider]