John Obi Mikel
Mikel joined Chelsea in 2006.

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel is set to become the first casualty of Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge after agent Babawo Mohammed revealed Turkish champions Galatasaray are in talks to sign the Nigerian international.

Despite making close to 300 appearances for The Blues since joining the club from Lyn Oslo in 2006, Mikel has failed to make a significant impact in west London following a series of indifferent displays.

And Chelsea appear ready to cash in on the 26 year old after seven years at the club, with Galatasaray, Super Lig champions for a record 19<sup>th time this season, in talks to sign Mikel this week.

"Galatasaray have shown interest to sign Mikel and I have been informed that they are in London talking with Chelsea about the deal," Mohammed told MTNFootball.com.

Mikel would represent the first departure of Mourinho's second reign at Chelsea and could potentially spark a succession of exits from the Europa League winners.

Yossi Benayoun, Florent Malouda, Ross Turnbull, Paulo Ferreira and Henrique Hilario are all out of contract this summer and appear ready to leave the club.

Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole has both penned year long extension until the summer of 2014, but the future of club captain John Terry is less clear with his contract only having 12 months to run.

Since joining Chelsea in controversial circumstances, Mikel has helped Chelsea to the Premier League title in the 2009/10 season as well as four FA Cup victories, the League Cup, the Champions League and most recently the Europa League last term.

However, his performances have been littered with inconsistency and questions have been raised over his suitability in a Chelsea midfield which in his presence has often looked lightweight.

Mournho arrives at Chelsea with a reputation for spending heavily in the transfer window and neglecting the club's youth system, but the Portuguese boss says the club don't necessarily need new players to improve during his second spell in charge.

"We have to improve the team, but when I say improve the team people are already thinking about how many millions Chelsea will spend. When I say improve the team, I mean through work," he said. "My work has to improve players and improve the team. If I don't do that I am not happy with myself.

"If after that we can improve the team by buying a couple of players it is fantastic, but I have to improve the team and the players with my work. The priority is to improve. In the last two years we have struggled in the Premier League."