United warn of anarchy over Mikel tug-of-war
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-13 21:09

Manchester United want the Premier League to intervene in the dispute over John Obi Mikel's proposed move to England from Norway's Lyn Oslo.

United say midfielder Mikel has signed for them and announced the four-million pound ($7.54 million) deal on April 29. But the 18-year-old Nigerian is quoted in Norway's Dagbladet newspaper as saying he now wants to join champions Chelsea.

United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz said anarchy would prevail if Mikel's move to Manchester did not go through.

"It is unacceptable that a boy of 18 can almost be kidnapped from his home environment and taken to London and within one day be talking on television with an unhappy face," Queiroz told a news conference on Friday.

Mikel, who has been named in Nigeria's training squad for this year's world youth championship, has been one of the brightest young players in his first season in Norway.

Queiroz and United chief executive David Gill said the club had followed regulations in their dealings with Mikel.

"We had a proper contract with the club (Lyn Oslo), dealt with the club first. Once we'd got agreement with them we sat down with the player and agreed a deal with him," Gill told SkySports television.

"(There are) two documents here which really show what we have the rights to the player in our opinion and it was all done legally, done in accordance with FIFA transfer rules and we are very comfortable with it," he said.

"We have asked the Premier League to investigate the situation regarding the transfer," a club spokeswoman added.

Mikel told Dagbladet he had been put under pressure to sign for United. "I don't want to play for them (Manchester United). I want to play for Chelsea," he said.

UNDER PRESSURE

He told Norway's independent TV2: "I don't think I want that contract anymore...because I didn't do it in my own way... I was under pressure to sign the contract."

Asked who had put pressure on him, he said: "I was under pressure from (Lyn manager) Morgan Andersen and two other representatives from Manchester United...and I was also under pressure from the clubs.

"In the end I couldn't resist any longer."

Lyn have denied putting Mikel under pressure and say the contract with Manchester was fully legal.

Asked what he thought about speculation that Mikel was set to join Chelsea, Gill said: "We are very disappointed. We have written to the other club, they have not responded to our letters."

Mikel skipped training with Lyn on Thursday and briefly disappeared before turning up in London. He said he had not held talks with Chelsea and had travelled freely to London from Oslo with his Nigerian agent.

His family and friends say Chelsea helped him and several Nigerian players to come to Norway to help develop their skills.

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