Newly promoted French club Monaco have joined the race for highly coveted Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi, according to the electronic edition of British newspaper <i>Metro</i>.<br /><br />With new Blues manager Jose Mourinho rebuilding his squad ahead of the resumption of the English Premier League, the Nigeria international is not guaranteed a first team shirt this coming season.<br /><br />And that means Mikel won't mind a new adventure as he does not want to sit on the bench.<br /><br />Turkish clubs <span class="notranslate">Trabzonspor and Galatasaray are also keen on the acquisition of </span>the former Lyn Oslo ace.<br /><br />But if it turns out to a bidding war between the three parties, Monaco, backed by Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev, have the upper hand.<br /><br />Including performance related add ons, Mikel could be available for around 20 million pounds.<br /><br /><i>Photo Credit: National Mirror</i><br /><br />