“But the fans and me” – John Obi Mikel critical of Chelsea’s transfer business once again | OneFootball

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has been critical of Chelsea’s transfer business and perhaps not for the first time.

There is a lot going on this week in the aftermath of the first summer transfer window closing on Tuesday night ahead of the Club World Cup.

EXCLUSIVE! Mike Maignan to Chelsea is NOT over, Petrovic up for sale, Sanchez available!

Chelsea failed to sign Mike Maignan and Jamie Gittens after being in talks, but there are other situations ongoing right now, such as the future of Trevoh Chalobah, who is wanted by Napoli this summer.

There was also a report out earlier in the week detailing the stats that prove Chelsea should have, and still can, sign Maignan from AC Milan this summer simply because he’s a big upgrade.

Veiga left disappointed

Renato Veiga has also been left disappointed after not being included in Chelsea’s Club World Cup squad for this summer.

He was apparently expecting to be included after winning the Nations League with Portugal at the weekend, but he was omitted when the squad was announced yesterday.

Mikel not convinced by Delap

“It’s not a secret. Everybody knows who I want to come to the football club and who the fans want to see at the football club,” Mikel tells The Evening Standard. “But they’ve decided to go down a different route.”

“I just hope that it’s going to be the right decision,” Mikel adds. “I like Liam Delap. He’s a good young striker who works his socks off. Is he a proven goalscorer in the Premier League? Can he do it at a big club like Chelsea? That’s the question. It’s about how the manager works with him and develops him.

Liam Delap’s signing photo for Chelsea. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

“What we need as a team is healthy competition. You can’t win the Premier League or Champions League with just one striker. We’ve only had Nicolas Jackson. Now, he and Delap will push each other. I hope we’ll see the best of both of them at the Club World Cup.

“With Victor Osimhen, if you want the finished article, if you want someone who can come in straight away, get you goals, win you trophies, put you in the top four, you have to pay the big bucks. That’s what the big clubs do.

“If you want somebody to evolve over the next two, three, four years, which is what the club has done, then that also makes sense. But Chelsea Football Club’s culture is winning — straight away. If you want to win, you have to bring in a Victor Osimhen.

“That’s how you win trophies. Because he will get you goals. Delap is a great young striker, but you have to wait and see if he’ll do it at a big club like Chelsea. Did he do it this season with Ipswich? Of course, they got relegated. So there’s so much to take in.

“I hope he does well,” Mikel smiles. “But the fans and me, we would have liked to see a proven goalscorer, somebody who has done it in Italy, in Turkey, and could have come here and done it for the club straight away.”