Chelsea respond to rumours surrounding John Obi Mikel

A Chelsea club source has told BBC Sport that midfielder John Obi Mikel is set to stay at the club, despite solid interest from the two clubs based in United Arab Emirates.
The 28-year-old looked set to leave Stamford Bridge after failing to secure a regular first-team position, having started only six league games last season.

John Obi Mikel recorded a passing accuracy of 91% last season.

However, the Nigeria international, who has two years left on his current contract, has been told he will stay with the champions, as he remains part of Jose Mourinho’s plans.
The BBC’s source is quoted as saying: “There’s absolutely no truth to reports linking Mikel with a move to Turkey or any Chinese club for that matter.
“Only two clubs from the UAE showed strong interest last month, but they could not meet his club’s valuation.
“Mikel has a contract with Chelsea until 2017, as things stand he will not be leaving the club this transfer window as speculated.”
Mikel has moved increasingly towards the fringes at Chelsea in the last season because of the form of Nemanja Matic.
The Serbian, who arrived from Benfica in January 2014, has become one of the best holding midfielders in the world and has often kept Mikel out of the Chelsea line-up.