Nigerian youngster John Obi Mikel was reportedly "intimidated and coerced into acting against his wishes" when he turned his back on a contract with
Manchester United and declared he wanted to sign for
Chelsea.
Mikel is at the centre of a bizarre tug-of-war between United and
Chelsea after he signed a deal with the
Old Trafford club only to turn up in London claiming he wanted to sign for the Blues instead.
He said that he had signed a contract in Manchester but did so "against his free will" - but now his registered agent has said that the coercion came after he signed the deal and not before.
In a letter seen by The Guardian and sent to the Premier League inquiry, agent Daniel Fletcher says that his client wanted to sign for United - but was scared into doing otherwise.
Fletcher says: "My information is that the player still expresses a firm desire to join
Manchester United. It is clear the player is seemingly being intimidated and coerced into acting against his wishes."
But Fletcher has not been in contact with Mikel for several months, and Nigerian agent John Shittu now claims to be acting on the youngster's behalf.
It was Shittu who was at Mikel's side when he turned up in London claiming to be on the verge of signing for
Chelsea.
Carlos Queiroz has said that Mikel was "almost kidnapped", while the Nigerian Football Association want to talk to Shittu about claims that he channelled money from
Chelsea to Mikel's father.
But Shittu has claimed that he is acting in Mikel's best interests and that, far from "kidnapping" the 18-year-old, he was acting at his behest.
"We left Norway, at his request, to get the pressure off his head. He is now very relaxed," claims Shittu. "As his agent, I am determined that he will not be exploited by any club who may want to take advantage of him."
But Lyn Sporting director Morgan Andersen revealed last week: "The boys who live with John could see he was scared. He was crying. I feel really bad for John, he has to protect himself and his family in Nigeria.
"The agents tried to influence him to say he didn't want to play for
Manchester United. He didn't want to do that but he he said he was under great pressure from those people."
