Former Chelsea star Michael Essien believes that Everton striker Romelu Lukaku could work alongside Jose Mourinho at Manchester United despite their differences at Stamford Bridge.

The Belgium international failed to make the cut under the Special One in west London, and this eventually urged him to pursue a permanent move to Goodison Park.

Persib Bandung midfielder Raphael Maitimo made a special mention of foreign recruits Michael Essien and Carlton Cole after he scored in his side’s 1-0 victory over Persiba Balikpapan in the Indonesian league.

The former Chelsea star made the switch to the less-known Asia league back in March following his release from Panathinaikos earlier last summer. Essien initially faced the prospect of a five-year jail term for illegally participating for the Indonesian club without prior registration with the immigration authorities. However, both he and Carlton Cole have since been allowed to take part in the playing field with the club taking responsibility to resolve the issue.

African soccer stars Michael Essien is set to clash with Didier Zokorain Indonesia.

The ex-Ghana international has played in opposing sides against the Ivorian at Wembley, the Premier League and in the African Nations Cup. They would renew their rivalry when Essien’sPersib Bandung side face Zokora’s Semen Padang in Sumatra.

Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien brought his long spell in European football to an end after joining up withIndonesian outfit Persib Bandung on a free transfer.

He has moved to the club after spending almost a year on the sidelines without a club. His last action in European football was with Panathinaikos, where he spent almost a year. This is the latest in a string of moves that has seen the midfielder struggled for a permanent position. He has been hit by several injuries for almost a decade. Back in 2007, Essien was regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Michael Essien is a vastly experienced footballer who has made his way through a number of clubs including: Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Milan just to name a few of the more renowned teams.

The latest club that the 34 year old Ghanaian midfielder joined was Persib Bandung as Michael Essien penned a 1 yearlong contract with Persib Bandung on March 13 of 2017.

Former England striker Carlton Cole has joined former Chelsea star Michael Essien in Indonesian club Persib Bandung, according to reports in England.

The 33-year old player spent a large portion of his professional football career in Premier League side West Ham United. He agreed to a one-year deal and he is expected to feature when the new Liga 1 season starts.

Michael Essien looks all set to join Croatian outfitRadio Rijeka after searching for a club for several months.

The midfielder is reportedly set to sign a new contract with the table leaders in the Croatian league. He has been without a club since leaving Panathinaikos on an acrimonious note back in August. Apart from joining a new club, it looks like Essien will also sue Panathinaikos to the tune of £500,000 in compensation. The midfielder believes that he was not being paid properly by the Greek outfit. However, Panathinaikos argue that the former Chelsea midfielder spent most of his time injured and unable to play.

Chelsea owner Roman Abrahimovich hosted a trio of the club’s former players Michael Essien, Andriy Shevchenko and Didier Drogba at the VIP owners’ box when the Blues hosted Arsenal in the Premier League.

Chelsea are gunning for a fifth Premier League title this term. They have had a brilliant run thus far. The owner of the successful football club Abrahimovich would be confident to host friends and guests as the form the team is in would likely get a decent result.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was rather quiet all through the winter transfer window as he made no signings nor commented on it despite links to some players.

The Portuguese tactician spent a huge sum in getting Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan during the summer window. Despite the inadequacies the coach thought it wise to ignore the market and work with the current talents at Old Trafford.

It is widely perceived that the Ghana national team is under a lot of trouble due to the poor form under Avram Grant.

The national team are going into the 2017 African Cup of Nations after having failed to win their last five matches in all competitions. Even in terms of the tournament itself, Ghana have an extremely poor record after not having won the title since 1982. Despite this poor record, former Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is remaining confident that the national team will be able to make a major impact at the upcoming edition in Gabon.