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midfielder John Obi Mikel is looking likely to move to China, with his
agent refuting claims that the Nigerian international has signed for La
Liga club Valencia.
The 29-year-old Mikel, who has not played for Chelsea at all this season under new coach Antonio Conte, was reported by some media outlets to be in the process of penning a four-year deal with Valencia.
But the Super Eagles skipper, who has been involved in his country's World Cup qualification campaign, will not be moving to Spain, says his agent John Shittu.
"It is not true that Mikel is joining Valencia on a four-year deal. The information is not correct."
Conte, meanwhile, says that the London club have not received any concrete offers for the player.
"For now, we have no news," he said on Tuesday.
Mikel has been linked to several clubs in China, including Tianjin TEDA, where it is said he will sign a three-year deal worth 7.2 million pounds per season.
He was also previously linked to Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, Guangzhou Evergrande, Hebei China Fortune and Beijing Guoan.
His former Stamford Bridge colleague Oscar has just moved from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG in a £60m deal.
There has also been reported interest from Italy in Mikel, with Inter Milan one of the clubs linked to him.
Mikel's national team boss, Gernot Rohr, has revealed that he has advised the midfielder against going to China.
"I prefer Mikel stays in Europe and play in an European team. When I was in London two weeks ago, we spoke about that.
"But Mikel is an experienced and intelligent player and he knows what to do. If he decides to choose the money of China then we must respect that. If he goes to China and is playing well, he will come [to the national team]."
Meanwhile Chelsea will be looking to extend their undefeated record when they face London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane Wednesday night.
Kick off is at 22:00.
