John Mikel Obi Bio

Mikel's strength on the ball and natural aggression seem to make him perfect for the English game and though many in Nigeria see him as an attacking player, he has usually been employed as a withdrawn midfielder in the Makelele mould for his club. Chelsea got their man in the summer of 2006 when Mikel John Obi finally put pen to paper on a contract at at Stamford Bridge, but it was a controversial deal which eventually cost the Blues £16million.

The Nigerian international began his career with Plateau United in his homeland and had been due to join Manchester United in January 2005 from Lyn Oslo. But then, in a U-turn, he said he had been put under pressure to sign for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

United had been tracking the player ever since the Nigerian Under-17 squad had trained at their Carrington complex ahead of the World Championships in 2003. And they thought they had secured his signature.

For several weeks in late 2005 at the height of the dispute, Mikel went missing from Lyn. Months of international wrangling followed before FIFA got to the bottom of the affair.

The teenager was forced to train alone in Nigeria without team-mates to comfort him as the row rumbled on.

Mikel played in the African Nations Cup for the senior Nigeria team but the bitter transfer saga prevented him from playing much domestic football.

The upshot of the whole sorry episode was that Chelsea had to pay their Premiership rivals £12million while his original club, Norwegian outfit Lyn Oslo, were paid a further £4million.

Obi's career certainly started slowly has he struggled to adapt to the pace of the Premier League.

Mikel has been wracked by a series of disciplinary problems both at the club and on the field; he was twice sent off during the 2007/8 season. to follow two sendings off in 2006/7.

He played at 2008 African Nations Cup where Nigeria exited at the quarter-final stage to hosts Ghana.