Is Michael Essien’s career at Chelsea over?

Michael Essien

Michael Essien is and always will be a legend and arguably one of the best midfielders to pull on the shirt, however with competition for places high and his skills on the wane is his career at Chelsea over?

Given his contribution to the club this is a hard question to ask but few would argue that he is not the player that he once was. This is supported by the fact that a huge fan of his Jose Mourinho has only selected him to start once in the Premier League this season. Future chances are not helped by the fact that whilst his overall performance was ok, he had a bit of a mare in two key moments.

The first was his lazy backpass from kickoff that led to the Southampton goal and the second was a pretty shocking booking for diving where it was obvious to everyone that the Saints player was nowhere near him.

With two high profile catastrophies Essien has not exactly given Mourinho reasons for playing him more regularly and it could be that he remains a very rare sight. I fear we may not see him again and his career is over.

Essien’s Decline

The decline of Michael Essien is clear to see, caused mostly by horrific knee injuries that have meant that we have not seen Essien at his best since around 2008.

He has been beset by these injuries and never quite got himself right, although he has always given 100% and contributed to the team particularly 2010/2011 where he made 33 league appearances under Carlo Ancelotti.

In 2012/2013 he was in Spain with Jose Mourinho at Madrid and was used sparingly but has been retained by Mourinho this season although he is not in the Champions League squad, due to squad congestion, further underlining his role now as a squad player.

It is painful to see how far his performances have dropped, particularly with a lack of pace he now displays, but whatever has happened he has always been happy to be part of the team and contribute when given the chance.

Essien At His Best

Let us not forget that Essien was one of the best players in the world around 2005 with energy, lung splitting runs and the ability to unleash a thunderbolt from time to time. He was versatile and could fill in at right back or centre back should the situation need him.

He was an absolute beast of a player and rightly loved by fans due to his commitment and performance levels.

Loyal Essien

He has been a loyal servant and been a part of some of the club’s greatest success with only the Europa League won without him playing a role since he joined the club in 2005.

Whatever happens and however often he plays before the end of the season, he is a Chelsea legend and I know that fans will remember him at his peak rather than the struggle at the end of his career.