Amid speculation that Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is on the move, Fabien Pivateau, the Ghanaian footballer's agent, confirmed his stay at Stamford Bridge for at least another season. “There's absolutely no chance of Essien leaving Chelsea,” Pivateau was quoted as saying on MTNFootball.com. The 28-year old international player has been linked with moves to Bayern Munich, Juventus, AC Milan and Real Madrid over the past few days especially since the arrival of new manager Andre Villas-Boas. The Portuguese tactician was reportedly willing to reshuffle the squad and drop some players including Essien. “It is not true that the club's new coach Villas-Boas want to release Michael. In fact the new coach knows Essien very well having worked at the club before and he knows what Michael can do for the club,” Pivateau added. Villas-Boas was a part of Jose Mourinho's technical staff when Chelsea signed Essien in 2005. The former Lyon midfielder became one of the team's key players. The Ghanaian's past two seasons have been plagued by an injury. Having totally recovered, he hopes to bounce back to the top. “Michael is also focused on staying at the club because he has a very good relationship with the team's supporters, the new manager and the club owner. He is not leaving,” the agent concluded.
