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England: Man U's Ferguson visits Oslo to urge Mikel transfer [Tue Sep 20th, 2005]
Oslo (Reuters) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson visited Norway to press his claim for the transfer of Nigerian teenager John Obi Mikel from Norwegian football club Lyn Oslo, Norwegian media said.
"We have an agreement with Lyn, have followed John Obi Mikel for three years and still want him to come to Manchester United," daily Verdens Gang quoted Ferguson as saying on their website.
Midfielder Mikel, 18, signed for Manchester United on April 29 but the deal was thrown into doubt when Mikel said that he had been put under pressure to sign a deal newspapers said was worth about 4 million pounds (US$7.21 million).
Mikel then travelled to London and said that he really wanted to play for English champions Chelsea. Mikel turned up in Norway earlier this month and resumed playing for Lyn after several months' absence.
A spokesman for Lyn confirmed that Ferguson met Lyn manager Morgan Andersen in Oslo but said he did not know details of the talks.
Verdens Gang said that Lyn and Manchester United, who negotiated Mikel's transfer, were cooperating on the case in preparing arguments for FIFA.
Last month, FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled that Mikel had to return to Lyn after leaving in May without permission. Under the April deal, Mikel was due to leave Lyn for Old Trafford in January 2006 after the end of the Norwegian season.
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