Ligue 1 club set to make Mikel Obi highest-paid player

French Ligue 1 side Marseille  may have succeeded in convincing  out-of-favour Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi to shun big-money move  to the Chinese Super League to help revive the club.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who  bought Marseille in October, had promised to invest heavily in the January transfer window to help manager Rudi Garcia  build a team  that could be European champions.

Les Phoceens were ready to rescue Mikel  from  his Chelsea nightmare in the summer  but the player’s  reported £3.4m-a-year  salary  reportedly  aborted  the  move.

With McCourt ready to spend in January – and Mikel yet to play a single game for Chelsea since the beginning of the season – reports in France on Sunday claimed Marseille were ready to sign the 29-year-old.

Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr also  confirmed Mikel, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of the season,  was in talks with Marseille.

“I saw him in London. He  is in advanced discussions with OM. Marseille is a serious option for him,” the German told Europe 1.

Chinese moneybags Shanghai SIPG  reportedly offered   Mikel £170,000 per week to move to Asia but Europe 1 believes the 2013 Africa Cup  of Nations winner will move to Stade Velodrome next month as  he will be a key player at the project at Marseille.

Garcia   has said  he will only sign top players in January  and believes Mikel will  bring a wealth of experience playing at the top level to help the side.

Former Swansea forward Bafetimbi Gomis is currently Les Phoceens’ highest-paid player at €420,000 per month, according to L’Equipe.

But reports say Marseille are ready to significantly improve on Mikel’s reported €350,000-a-month salary at Chelsea to lure him to France.

[Festus Abu/Punch]