London — Chelsea 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. — Sport24.