This news has been making the rounds since Sunday but seems to have gathered steam this morning with his agent coming out & saying he has a verbal agreement with Inter for €15m (or is it £15m). Btw is this not wrong considering the player is still contracted till 2011. I am not too sure about this even though Inter needs a player like him considering the fact that Viera seems to be past it; however he is due a contract renewal this season so Danny sh*ttu might be hawking him around/ making noises to get it sorted out ASAP.

Something occurred to me when he got charged for drink driving and he declined community service (or whatever it was) and accepted his punishment for a lengthy driving ban that he might be look to engineer a move away from Stamford Bridge. Fair play to him if that is the case because I reckon he is down the pecking order behind Essien & Ballack however, he has played 40+ odd matches.

IMO if Inter offered €20m, we should consider selling him but not less. He is probably one of the best at winning the ball but his ball distribution and vision is quite appaling compared to other players in his position & age group (e.g. Veloso, Anderson and dare I say Noble & Huddlestone). With the ANC coming up next year, it might be a sensible option to get a less expensive box-box midfielder who can adapt to a DM position and offers a bit more. I know I won't mind him been replaced by Veloso, Moutinho but won't sell him at 15m, £/€

20 million Euros is not enough, considering how much he cost and what the club went through to get him.

Didn't he end up costing us about 15 million anyway?

Why on earth would we sell a first team regular, who is still so so young, and has improved a lot since he arrived, for a slight loss, even if we're not totally convinced he is what we need in the long term.

stupid story.

20 million Euros is not enough, considering how much he cost and what the club went through to get him.

I think he is good, but nowhere near as great as some people think on here. I still think he is a bit of a liability but he is young and could well learn a lot more.

If that money is directly and quickly going to strengthen another part of the team that needs it more (ie final 3rd) then im all for it, but i agree that it makes all the rigmarole of a few years ago a bit pointless and so (again) youd have to question the powers that be.

Bottom line is for me he isnt as good as Diarra who we pissed away at the cost of a tenth of a Sheva. If we'd have kept him im sure he'd be a mainstay alonside Lamps and Essien right now and Mikel would be nowt but a afterthought.

Edited May 12, 200917 yr by bjd

My answer is: no f**king way! Mikel is 22! He's played some magnificent games this year, and players in his position usually don't bloom until their mid to late 20s. I would put Mikel in the absolute top priority players to KEEP. With Ballack and Lamps aging he's going to continue to get a lot of game time, and next to Essien (26) I reckon he can forge the best midfield pairing in the PL over the next 5 years. If Jose starts playing games with JOM he can go f**k himself. He's OURS.

Bottom line is for me he isnt as good as Diarra who we pissed away at the cost of a tenth of a Sheva. If we'd have kept him im sure he'd be a mainstay alonside Lamps and Essien right now and Mikel would be nowt but a afterthought.

:o :o :o Diarra has found his level at Madrid. About the same as Portsmouth. Mikel is massively better.

Madrid on a par with Pompey, not sure I would agree with this.

As for Diarra, he's acracking player, he was the odd one out at Chelsea, he wanted first team football in a big team and eventually he got it.

:o :o :o Diarra has found his level at Madrid. About the same as Portsmouth. Mikel is massively better.

We are going to have to agree to disagree here ES!. Mikel for me is the most overhyped and overated Chelsea player in our squad by far (even i can stick my arse out and shield the ball from an opponent whilst looking for the nearest 4 yard pass) but im prepared to give him time, like i said before we went to a lot of trouble to get him so it would be a waste of everyones time if we let him go for a fee simialr to what we ended up paying Utd.

For me Diarra is class and theres gotta be a reason Madrid offered 20 million for him and not JOM.

For me Diarra is class and theres gotta be a reason Madrid offered 20 million for him and not JOM.

There is a reason that Diarra couldn't get in the Chelsea team ahead of Mikel and why he couldn't get in to the Arsenal team ahead of Song, Diaby and Denilson.

Madrid bought him because they were desperate after the other Diarra got injured and they we left with just Gago as a holding midfielder. Lass won't be holding down a place in the Madrid midfield next year.

Mikel wasn't for sale and I doubt very much that we would sell him now either.

20 million Euros is not enough, considering how much he cost and what the club went through to get him.

Thats my sentiments. I think in the end it was a 12 million fee we paid to Man Utd, plus another 3 to Lyn Oslo. If Inter want him that bad, they should start the bidding at 25m pounds, and I think that would probably end the conversation right there.

Personally, I dont really see why Roman would even consider selling him this soon, unless he wanted to leave, considering how protracted and disputed the battle to sign him was in the first place.

Lass won't be holding down a place in the Madrid midfield next year.

Not so long ago a paper in Madird ran a poll to see which Madrid players should be kept or sold and only two came under the 'keep' list. Diarra and Robben. He is a key player for them.

There is a reason that Diarra couldn't get in the Chelsea team ahead of Mikel and why he couldn't get in to the Arsenal team ahead of Song, Diaby and Denilson.

He was only in the squad with Mikel for one season and you have to bear in mind we had Maka that year too and Mikel wasnt being played as a defensive midfielder so its no surprise he played more.

Edited May 12, 200917 yr by bjd

He's very good and only 22. How many complete players do you get at 22, especially in that position?

Wouldn't sell him for the world.

He's very good and only 22. How many complete players do you get at 22, especially in that position?

Wouldn't sell him for the world.

Mikel is far from "complete" IMO.

If a bid came in which was £22m or more I'd expect us to do business and say our goodbyes.

He's very good and only 22. How many complete players do you get at 22, especially in that position?

Wouldn't sell him for the world.

Ehmm

Veloso, Lass, Moutinho and maybe Huddlestone. His main problem is his distribution, I have been waiting for a year now to see him break up an attack, look up and pick out a player ahead not play a side pass. We all seem to forget he started off as an attacking midfielder, I just don't see it.

Add Anderson to the list and You would notice he still has a lot to learn and fast.

Huddlestone? are you serious?

Not so long ago a paper in Madird ran a poll to see which Madrid players should be kept or sold and only two came under the 'keep' list. Diarra and Robben. He is a key player for them.

To be fair, their fanbase just like their board have a change of heart every week on who they want to keep/sell/buy. It's a circus down there at Madrid.

To be fair, their fanbase just like their board have a change of heart every week on who they want to keep/sell/buy. It's a circus down there at Madrid.

I thought we always wanted to be the Man Utd of the south but the above makes us sound like the Madrid of England !!

It would be stupid of us if we let him go . He has been terrific considering his age and is as good as a back up you can hope for when essien is fit . Even then Essien can be better off at an attacking position with mikel in the team as well . Shouldnt let him go .

To be fair, their fanbase just like their board have a change of heart every week on who they want to keep/sell/buy. It's a circus down there at Madrid.

Sounds like us then really!

You have to remember that he is playing out of position at holding midfield. He came to the club as a creative midfielder but this creativity has been curtailed this season. Hiddink played him in a more advanced role in midfield for the last 20 min against fulham with Ballack holding and he looked convincing. He's not bad at running with the ball its just he's rarely given licence to do so. We have to hold onto him

£15-£20m I would keep him. £25m is time to think.

I dont think we would get £25m and therefore we need to keep him. He can be good. I used to really dislike him but am growing to him.

Mikel is far from "complete" IMO.

Oops, sorry, I didn't phrase that very well.

I didn't mean to say that Mikel is complete, but that a complete player in that position is a rarity, so to have a player as good there as Mikel is a gift.

Mikel can at times be brilliant, but at times I don't think even he realizes how good he is which is a shame. because if there is one thing that we can say about L Diarra it's that he believed he was as good as he was.

I think Mikel is an exceptional player, but if we were to have chosen whether to let Mikel go to Man U, and we got Diarra. I'm not sure I'd have been running to the courts

I know this is hypothetical but there was something so calm and assured and in a way exciting about diarra that I have yet to completely feel with Mikel. And I really like Mikel

Scott

He's not bad at running with the ball its just he's rarely given licence to do so.

I don't buy into that. I think with Mikel, what you see is what you get. He is a good example of the preferred modern day footballer - very athletic, strong on the ball, neat passer etc etc. But I think people are expecting all sorts from him when he just doesn't have them in his locker. I see nothing in him that would justify a £25m price tag.

Hope he proves me wrong.

Had a great game in el clasico recently. :lol:

Seems to regularly go missing in the important matches. I've always thought he should play with Bendtner - same sort of self-righteous attitude/estimate of one's abilities.

And some rate him above Mikel. Sweet Jesus.