Yet to play a minute of football under Antonio Conte at Chelsea this season, John Obi Mikel’s career appears to be some distance away from Stamford Bridge, with a few options opening up for the Nigeria captain.
Inter Milan in Serie A are said to be interested in a loan until the end of the season, while reports in France suggest Marseille and Rudi Garcia are keen on a permanent transfer, even if wages could be a hindrance in any potential deal.
Trying to get an expert’s opinion on the matter, Marseille-centric website Le Phocéen gave former Tottenham director of football Damien Comolli a call to question whether the Ligue 1 side’s interest in the player is worth it.
After working as a scout for Arsenal, Comoli took up a role as director football at Tottenham in 2005. He spent three years at White Hart Lane before leaving his role under a cloud in 2008.
After Tottenham came saint Etienne and then Liverpool, but Comoli may be best remembered in English football for some of his Spurs purchases.
Speaking about the possible Chelsea transfer, Comoli said: “Firstly, we have to look at why Mourinho and Conte have played him over the past two season, and there has to be a reason since he’s not been injured. When Mourinho left last year, Mikel reacted rather aggressively by saying he didn’t communicate with player and didn’t know why he wasn’t playing.
“However, when Hiddink took over he put him back in the team, and it went rather well, but once Conte came in at the start of the season, he returned to the bench. In fact, Chelsea are looking for a player fitting his profile.”
Despite this, Comolli did admit signing Mikel could be a very good move for Marseille, especially since the positives outweighed the negatives, even if he wasn’t a ‘Verratti or a Tiemoué Bakayoko’.
With a wage of €6m/year, the French side would have to convince him to take a rather hefty pay cut, while offers from China could be tempting if he decides money is more important than the level football at this stage in his career.
Then again, the conclusion remains the same: he won’t be a Chelsea player much longer.
Tottenham have repeatedly toyed with the idea of a director of football, or someone responsible for transfers. Mauricio Pochettino has been helped at Spurs by Paul Mitchell, who remains at the club despite handing his notice in.
Pochettino revealed a week ago that Mitchell is still at Tottenham and will oversee the January transfer window.
Chelsea haven’t had a director of football as such, but Michael Emenalo performs a similar role for the club.
