Michael Essien Set to Leave Chelsea?
Mandatory Credit: Paul Frederiksen-USA TODAY Sports
According to an interview given by the Ghana midfielder’s agent Fabian Piveteau, Michael Essien is set to leave Chelsea Football Club after an illustrious 8 years in London, one of which he spent on an inexplicable loan to Real Madrid. It appears however that this time Essien will be leaving on a full transfer and several clubs are interested in the midfielder as confirmed by his agent:
"“The player will leave Chelsea and I had a lot of contact from different clubs. But Milan is not among them, or at least I did not have direct contact with the Rossoneri. I will have important appointments this week, then I will fly to London to assess the club and the player with the best solution.”"
The writing on the wall for this transfer has been here for some time now. Last year loaning out Essien was hard to justify given the lack of depth in Chelsea’s central and defensive midfield with the injury to Oriol Romeu and the sale of Raul Meireles to Fenerbahce. This was compounded by the grueling schedule Chelsea had to manage as they took part in several competitions they wouldn’t normally partake in as a result of their Champion’s League victory. Victims of their own success they may have been but the club only made things worse by loaning out a potential contributor in midfield.
This year that is no longer the case. Even with the injury to Marco Van Ginkel in preseason, Essien has been at best a fringe squad player. With the arrival of Nemanja Matic to bolster Chelsea’s defensive midfield, Essien will fall further down the pecking order. His captaincy for Ghana at the World Cup is not in jeopardy even with limited minutes, but it makes more sense for The Bison to seek greener pastures. Despite his agent claiming AC Milan have not contacted him, the Serie A would be a perfect fit for him as it is a less pacey league than the Premiership and he could still shine on a major European stage. Whatever team is lucky enough to land a consummate professional like Essien will definitely be improved by his presence on and off the field.