http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Essien-c25294
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is reportedly planning to bring Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien to La Liga giants Real Madrid.
The Portuguese manager has been keeping an eye on the 28-year-old holding midfielder and is hoping to bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer.
It was Mourinho who signed Essien in the summer of 2005 from Ligue 1 side http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130 for a fee of £24.4 million.
Since then Essien has occupied the holding midfielder role at Stamford Bridge, successfully replacing Claude Makelele.
In just his first season at the London club, Essien went on to make an impressive 42 appearances and even managed to score 2 goals.
His next two seasons were as successful if not more; he managed 54 and 45 appearances respectively, scoring 6 goals each.
While the 2008-2010 period wasn’t particularly eventful for the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ghana-c2905 international, he only made 19 and 21 appearances during those two seasons due to injury.
He has recovered since then and resumed his regular appearances for the Blues; he managed 43 appearances this season and found the back of the net 4 times.
In the wake of the rumours, Essien has made it clear he wishes to remain with Chelsea and help them regain the English Premier League title.
He currently has three more years remaining on his contract and apparently wishes to see them through.
So far Serie A side http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan, London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid are interested in acquiring the services of the Blues midfielder.
His recent slump in form could encourage Chelsea to consider selling him during the summer, when they will be guaranteed a decent price for him.
If the Blues go on to wait another year to sell Essien, chances are they will not be able to fetch a good price for him.
Currently Essien is expected to fetch as much as £18 million, which is not bad considering he was bought for only £6 million more 6 years ago.
Polls reveal that supporters consider Michael Essien one of the top underperforming Chelsea players of this season.
His departure is not expected but would be welcomed, with the Blues in desperate need of a change after a highly disappointing season.
If Essien does indeed leave Stamford Bridge, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/John-Obi-Mikel-c18882 will most likely replace him, having already done so on various occasions.
Essien on the other hand can also expect to be guaranteed first team football, whichever club he joins.
If Essien joins Real Madrid, the most favourable option, he will be replacing Lassana Diarra, who has his eyes set on a move to the English Premier League.
Inter Milan on the other hand seem to be looking for a solid replacement for Dutch midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wesley-Sneijder-c36799, who has been linked with a move away in the summer.
If the race to sign Essien is just between Inter Milan and Real Madrid, the Madrid coach, Mourinho, can expect to emerge victorious.
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