John Obi Mikel: Chelsea midfielder in decisive comment on Blues future amid transfer speculation

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Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel has insisted that he has no desire to leave west London this summer amid exit speculation.

As reported by The Guardian, the 28-year-old has been linked with United Arab Emirates club al-Ain and the Turkish side Fenerbahce over the summer; however, it seems that he has little desire to leave Stamford Bridge and wants to see out his contract.

“I want to stay and the manager wants me to stay,” Mikel told Chelsea’s official website. “I’ve got two years [on my contract] here and I’m happy.

“I like to be somewhere where I have developed friends and family. It’s like my family here and every day I come to work it is like coming in to see my family. I know all the players and all the staff so it’s going to be a hard place to leave when my contract runs out but let’s see what happens. I want to see out my two years.”

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Only club captain John Terry has more years of service to the Premier League champions than Mikel, but unlike the former England international, the midfielder’s playing time is beginning to significantly diminish in the English capital.

The former Lyn star was handed just six starts by Jose Mourinho in the Premier League and only one in the Champions League last season, as recent arrivals Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic appear to have become the Portuguese manager’s first-choice pairing in central midfield.

It seems, therefore, that transfer activity in Mourinho’s senior side may be minimal ahead of their title-winning 2015-16 campaign.

Among the Blues’ most notable activity is their signing of former Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, while the release of Didier Drogba at the end of the season and Petr Cech’s to move to rivals Arsenal [via Sky Sports].

What’s more, Mourinho revealed on Thursday that he has no ‘fragilities’ that need addressing this summer:

“You are speaking with the manager of the best team in England. We don’t have fragilities – we are a top team, we have top players,” as quoted by the Daily Star.

“We started training six days ago – we did 11 training sessions in six days.

“We don’t need other players – we trust these players, these players are good.”

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