TheCable

John Obi Mikel insists he’s happy in Chelsea and has vowed to see out the last two years of his contract, amid speculation linking him with an exit from Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer market.

The 28-year-old midfielder has since been tipped with potential moves to the United Arab Emirates or Qatar, but the player maintains he is fully committed to the cause in west London.

“I have two years left on my contract here and want to see them out. I am happy here and we will see what happens. I do want to stay, the manager wants me to stay so I don’t have any issues,” he told the London Evening Standard.

“The manager has told me he wants me to stay. He said that and I’m pretty happy to stay.

“This is going to be my tenth season at the club, next year it will be my 11th. I have been here so long due to the contracts I have signed and I like to be somewhere where I have developed friendships.

“This is like my family now. Every time I come to work it’s like coming into see my family.

“I know the whole place, the staff, it is going to be a hard place to leave when my contract runs out and then we will see what happens.”

After all the controversy of his signing and initial hot-headedness, Mikel has settled in to be a quiet, strong, consistent member of the Blues.

With the departure of Petr Cech this summer, Mikel is now the second-longest-serving active member of the squad behind John Terry.

Although he made just 26 appearances last season, he’s now moved into 25th spot on the all-time appearance list, one ahead of Ashley Cole and four behind Peter Houseman.

Mikel started Chelsea’s opening pre-season game against New York Red Bulls, which ended in a surprise 4-2 defeat for the champions on Wednesday night.

And he feels the manner of the performance should serve as a wake-up call with the start of the season just over two weeks away.

“We didn’t end the game well. Overall it was a pretty good warm-up game, but it was not the result we hoped for,” he said.

“We are here to work and train hard leading to the Community Shield and the start of the Premier League.

“I think we are on the right course. This is just a one-off. But we know we have to go back to training and need to buckle up because the season is nearly started.”