UNITED TARGET RECEIVES DEATH THREATS

From the Guardian:

John Obi Mikel, the Nigerian teenager signed by Manchester United from under the noses of Chelsea, has been assigned a round-the-clock bodyguard after receiving death threats.

FC Lyn Oslo, who will hold his registration until January, are taking the threats seriously and have moved Mikel to a "secure place". Norwegian journalists traced him to an Oslo hotel and he was quoted in Aftenposten as describing himself as "afraid".

The source of the threats is not clear, but Mikel's current employers are taking no chances. The club confirmed they have moved Mikel into a hotel and are using security guards. They are thought to have asked the police for advice but not to have reported the matter as a crime.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been informed and United have asked their Norwegian counterparts to remain in close touch.

Chelsea lost out on the teenager and were livid after Mikel snubbed them just a few weeks after telling the Kick Off Nigeria magazine they had agreed a four-year deal.

Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's billionaire owner, is believed to have ordered a full inquest into why the young midfielder subsequently turned up at Old Trafford, and why the first Chelsea knew of it was when a statement was posted on United's official website last week.

The transfer is further confused because there are football agents in Nigeria, Norway and England who are either claiming to represent Mikel, or who are seeking to look after his interests.

One of those, Daniel Fletcher, a respected London-based agent, has had a contract to represent Mikel since last year, but has not been able to contact his "client" for eight months and the United deal was done without his knowledge.

Fletcher, who is reluctantly considering legal action, believes Mikel has "as much talent as Wayne Rooney and Freddy Adu", which echoes the Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's assertion that watching Mikel left him feeling like he had "found gold”.