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While no one has explicitly confirmed it yet, it seems pretty obvious that this will be Mikel John Obi's final season at Chelsea. The only question now is whether he stays until the summer or he leaves in the winter. Chelsea have supposedly already decided not to offer a new contract and Mikel himself has hinted strongly at developments coming in January.
I suppose the other question is just where he might end up. Over the years, he's been frequently linked with Italy and Turkey, but the latest rumors seem to point more towards the south of France and Marseille specifically.
John Obi Mikel to Marseille this January is a done deal, according to an inside source at OM. https://t.co/CZHQFP8GL8
— Maxime (@batsflip) November 15, 2016
Indiscrétion (de bonne source interne) John Obi Mikel c'est fait pour janvier! A la place de Diarra #OM #marseille
— OMReplay.fr (@OMReplay) November 15, 2016
The obvious caveat here is that this is an unofficial/unverified account citing a "good internal source" on the Internet, but the surrounding chatter seems to be vouching for them and their claim fits with the rumors of the past week. Mikel to Marseille may not be "done" by any means, perhaps not even close, but there appears to be a real possibility here.
John Obi Mikel has an option to move to Marseille but still loves #Chelsea. His January will be interesting. #CFC https://t.co/Nt983xCQ4Q
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) November 11, 2016
OM are shopping hard for a "big name" midfielder as many are expecting current midfield hard-man Lassana Diarra (hey, remember him?) to leave in January, possibly for China. Inter's Geoffrey Kondogbia was thought to be a front-runner, but his agent has recently rubbished any such notions. Other names that have been floated include dead bodies Bastian Schweinsteiger and Yaya Touré. Could Mikel be a more useful fall-back option? Wouldn't be the craziest thing...