Albert Riera

Galatasaray are thought to be extremely close to signing Chelsea midfielder John obi Mikel. The player has said that in a statement that Galatasaray are in advanced negotiations with Chelsea over a potential transfer. This will come as a surprise to many especially because Mikel had several years left on his contract still. He has been a first-team regular for the club over the last few years after having been signed by Chelsea Mourinho back in 2006 as a teenager. He has said that he has spent several years at Chelsea to consider a move away from the club.

If he moves to Galatasaray, he will be joining his former teammate Didier Drogba, who moved to the Turkish capital a few months ago. Galatasaray have been spending big in the transfer market in the hope of becoming a superpower in Europe. They managed to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League last season. Chelsea have been linked with Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi over the last few months. They will be looking to sign the 29-year-old as a replacement for Mikel if he indeed leaves for Turkish football.

Mikel was initially criticised for not being mature enough, but the last few years have seen the best of the 26 year old. He recently managed to win the Champions League title as well.

“I have played at Chelsea for a long time and it’s now time for me to leave. I’m still only 26 and it’s great to receive an offer from a club playing Champions League football and doing well in the competition. Talks have reached an advanced level between Chelsea and Galatasaray. Chelsea won’t make the move difficult and regarding my salary there won’t be a problem. All that is left is for the clubs to reach an agreement,” said Mikel.

Even with the presence of a striker like Didier Drogba, Galatasaray were unable to get a first leg advantage in the match against Schalke. The Turkish club were playing against the German club the last 16 stage of the Champions league. The first leg was at home of the Turkish club, but it was Schalke who managed to take the first leg advantage after drawing the match 1-1. The return leg will be at Schalke in a week’s time. Galatasaray showed off their new signing Didier Drogba, who helped Chelsea win the Champions League during the summer.

The Galatasaray team also featured the former Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder in the line-up as well. Schalke were coming into the match on the back of a brilliant away form in Europe, as they have not lost more than a match in the last 10 encounters. During this period, they have managed wins against the likes of Arsenal. Hence, it was definitely not an easy match for Galatasaray, but they would have been hoping to see the poor form of Schalke that had seen them go with just one win in the last 12 Bundesliga matches. The Schalke midfielder Jones, who scored the equaliser, has said that the German team are extremely happy with the result.

“We are really happy with the result. We made one or two mistakes and conceded the goal, but all together we played well. Our goal was important, we’ll see how things go from here. We have earned a lot of respect. The action which led to my yellow card was dumb from me, I hope I can still play in the quarter-final,” said the midfielder, who will be unavailable for the return leg after being booked. The goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand, meanwhile, praised the atmosphere generated by the home fans.