Mikel Delighted To Be Issued British Passport

Chelsea Midfielder Obi Mikel Delighted To Be Issued British Passport

By SL10 - Jan 17, 2015 04:26 PM

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel is delighted that he has finally been issued a British passport, after applying for the document months ago.

The Nigeria international became eligible for citizenship, having spent more than eight years in England following his transfer to Chelsea from Lyn Oslo of Norway in 2006.

Since late last year, Mikel had been patiently waiting for positive feedback from the authorities, and he ultimately got cheering news last week.

''Mikel was issued a British passport last week, and he is very happy to be in the possession of the passport,'' a representative of the Super Eagles star told SL10.ng.

''That's very good news because he will no longer be counted as a foreign player in the Chelsea squad.

''All the obstacles that would have prevented him playing in Europe have been eliminated, especially in Italy.

''Mikel is not leaving Chelsea in the January transfer window. He will only think about his future at the end of this season.''

Prior to the start of the 2014 - 2015 campaign, there had been speculation that manager Jose Mourinho wanted to offload Mikel in order to free up a foreign quota spot, but this is now a thing of the past.

In the last few months, the 27-year-old has been linked with possible moves to AC Milan and Schalke 04 in the winter transfer market.