Confirmed By The Boss – Chelsea To Complete Transfer Of £80,000-A-Week UCL Winner In January

one of the senior players in the Chelsea team at the moment, John Obi Mikel been more like a bit-part player for the club since the return of Jose Mourinho in 2013.

Now the Nigerian midfielder knows he is surplus to requirement at Stamford Bridge and could be leaving the west London outfit when the transfer window reopens in January, as per reports.

Mikel, 29, was close to an exit during the summer with Turkish clubs particularly interested in signing the former Lyn Oslo midfielder, but with Chelsea failing to bring in a replacement in Paul Pogba, the move fell through.

The interested suitors are now likely to reignite the interest in Mikel and the move could go through in the New Year, with Besiktas declaring their intentions to sign the Nigerian, who recently helped his country beat Cameroon 3-0 in a World Cup/Nations cup qualifying game.

Besiktas president Fikret Oman said: “If Gunes [Besiktas coach] had given the go-ahead we were going to sign Mikel (last summer), and we could enter the race again over the winter break.”

Mourinho has publicly slammed the performances of his players this term for their woeful displays – something some of the Blues’ stars admitted – as Chelsea currently sit in 16th place in the Premier League table with just two wins out of their eight league games.

Whilst other midfielders in Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas have also received some flaks, it is highly likely both players would not be leaving Chelsea in the New Year.

However, Mikel could now be one of those players who could be ousted away from Stamford Bridge in order to make room for suitable reinforcements in order to put their league title defence back on track.

He has endured limited game time this season, having featured just three times in the league and his Chelsea career is now set to end.

Mikel joined Chelsea in the summer of 2006 after a much protracted saga between the Blues and Manchester United, and has since gone on to win the Champions League, Europa League, two Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and Carling Cups during his spell at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, with the victory meaning the Blues now have three victories in nine league outings this term. They now sit in 11th place on the log, and will be hoping to continue the brilliant run in the next couple of matches.