Arsenal legend Ray Parlour in Ghana for Airtel Soccer Clinic

By Ameenu Shardow

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has backed Michael Essien’s move to Real Madrid from Chelsea.

The Ghana international sealed a season’s-long loan move to the Spanish giants on transfer deadline day on Friday night.

Initial reports linked the 29-year-old strongly to join Arsenal but Chelsea’s reluctance to give their player to a rival club, much less a club in London saw the ex Olympique Lyon player head for the Santiago Bernabeu.

And Parlour who is in Ghana for the Airtel Soccer Clinic says the move to the nine-time European champions could only serve Essien better considering his situation at Chelsea.

“Yes, definitely, I mean he (Essien) wants to play football. Will he get his chance to play at Real Madrid, we have to wait and see,” he told GHANAsoccernet.com.

“But it is a good move. At Chelsea there was problems in the midfield with Mikel and maybe Essien was the one to fill in but he never got his chance.

“For his career-wise, if he goes to Real Madrid he might get a chance and as a footballer you don’t want to be training hard all week and not having anything out of it.

“So maybe he gets his chance at Real Madrid which is obviously a massive club as well and he can further his career.”

Essien has already hit the ground running at Madrid as he has been called up into the team to face Granada in a La Liga game on Sunday night.