John Obi Mikel will not be leaving Chelsea this summer — report

We were fooled by finances involving a possible John Obi Mikel transfer to Turkish football earlier today and had it cleared up a while ago. With Fenerbahce's chairman admitting that the club is not capable of funding Mikel's move due to Chelsea's asking price and the player's wage demands, we were left with some old rumours claiming that our loyal midfielder would most likely head to a UAE club — the same in which striker Asamoah Gyan had been playing until just recently.  But maybe even that is not happening.

According to a BBC source, rumours involving Mikel's transfer to Turkish and Chinese (Chinese?) football are simply not true. While the source admits that there have been two bids from UAE clubs that showed "strong interest" in the player, they could not meet Chelsea's valuation.

It seems that Chelsea's thinking heads at board and coaching levels still believe that the defensive midfielder has something left to offer to the club. Having made 339 overall appearances since his arrival in 2006, it is not difficult to note that Mikel has been a True Blue through and through, enduring plenty of criticism and transitions from many different coaches and systems, playing major parts in all of them, including some of our biggest trophy conquests.

His contract runs out in 2017, but if Chelsea really is considering extending Ramires' contract, maybe it is time to do the same with Mikel — a true, humble warrior.