Chelsea midfielder Hints At Club Exit In January

Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi has hinted that he could leave the club in January. The Nigerian has not played a minute for Chelsea this season as he has found it hard to force his way into manager Antonio Conte’s plans.

Mikel missed the start of the season because he represented Nigeria at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil where he helped his country win a bronze medal and was not able to show Conte what he could do and with Kante and Matic the preferred choice in midfield Mikel has found it tough to break into the team.

Speaking to ESPN Mike had this to say

“We will wait and see what happens in January. For the first time in my career, this is happening to me and I have to stand up and deal with it. It is what it is but I’m training hard every day and I always wish the team the best and I am happy we are doing well.

“I’ve been at Chelsea a long time. Managers come and go, players come and go. I’ve been at Chelsea a long time and these things happen in football. So we will have to make that decision when January comes.”

Mikel is presently with Nigeria and is expected to start and captain Nigeria against Algeria in a world cup qualifier and manager of Nigeria Gernot Rohr revealed that Mikel not playing at Chelsea is punishment for going to the Olympics.

“I spoke about this with Mikel and the club’s technical director. Mikel is training very well and he plays games in training with the big players at Chelsea. There is a reason why Mikel is not playing for Chelsea right now and that reason is because he played for Nigeria at the Olympics. He was punished for that.”