Chelsea’s Nigerian midfielder, John Mikel Obi, says he has no intention of leaving the London club.
Signed to the club in 2006 and now second only to Captain John Terry as the longest serving player in the club, Obi says Chelsea has become his home.
There have been rumours linking Mikel with a move away from West London but recent pre-season happenings show that Jose Mourinho might have plans for Mikel in his squad, at least in the 2015/16 season.
The 28-year-old spoke to club website and expressed confident views about his chances in the Chelsea squad.
“I want to stay and the manager wants me to stay,” said Mikel.
“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.”
Mikel Obi played the first half of Chelsea’s match with New York Red Bulls on Wednesday, leaving the pitch at the break with the Blues 1-0 ahead.
He created an excellent chance for a second with a fine long pass which was latched on to by his compatriot Victor Moses. The winger was unlucky not to score with a dink that hit the post and not the net.
Mikel believes, “Overall it was a pretty good warm-up game but not the result we hoped for.
“We knew we needed to start the game well. I was in the dressing room having a shower at the beginning of the second half so I don’t know how we started but we obviously didn’t end the game well.”
Goals from Loïc Rémy and Eden Hazard could not prevent Chelsea slipping to a 4-2 defeat.
“We are here to work hard, and we are here to train hard leading to the Community Shield and to the league. I think we’re on the right course. That game was just a one-off game and we know we need to go back to training, buckle up and know the season is starting soon”, Mikel Obi said.
