Ex-star Arhinful urges Essien to quit Chelsea

By Patrick Akoto

Ex-Ghana international Augustine Arhinful wants Michael Essien to quit Chelsea.  

The woes of the 29-year continued over the weekend where he watched the game from the bench as Chelsea beat Newcastle United 2-0.

It was the fourth straight game that the former Lyon man had failed to start for the European champions with manager Roberto Di Matteo clearly not a fan of the Ghanaian international.

A nasty run of serious injuries has left the midfielder a shadow of his former self as he continues to warm the Chelsea bench.

There have been growing calls for the enforcer to quit the club in search of regular first team action.

The former Black Stars striker believes the sitation is becoming embarrassing for Essien and is now urging him to consider other options.

“He is my friend and I can say that it is a very delicate situation that he finds himself,” Arhinful said

“Left to me alone, I think he should look at other offers.Beacuse clearly the coach prefers to use Obi Mikel than using him and so he should really look elsewhere,”

“He came back from a serious injury and so naturally it was going to take a bit of time to ease into the team,”

“Now that the coach is showing signs that he will not be starting him, it may just be time for him to move on.”

The former BBC African Footballer of the Year will not be short of offers with Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho eager to reunite with the player he brought to Chelsea in 2005.