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Rumors about Michael Essien's transfer to London finally ended - on Friday, "Chelsea" officials officially announced that they have signed a contract with the young Ghanaian national team midfielder.
As reported, Essien signed a long-term five-year contract with the London team. "Chelsea" had been chasing the 22-year-old midfielder for a long time, but "Lyon" kept rejecting all English team's attempts until they were finally forced to accept "Chelsea's" offer of 38 million euros (26 million pounds).
Acquiring Essien, "Chelsea" also broke the club record - last year they paid 24 million pounds for another "Ligue 1" player Didier Drogba, which is two million less than for Essien.
Essien has not played any matches this season yet, as he refused to play in protest against the decisions of "Lyon" leaders not to let him leave, claiming that he was afraid of getting injured and ruining his transfer to "Chelsea" once and for all.
It is believed that Essien will not play in the London derby this weekend, but he should definitely appear on the field in the next round of matches against [opponent].
