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Ferguson - Mikel wants to join us

MANCHESTER, England -- Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted that John Obi Mikel wants to play for Manchester United.

The Nigerian midfielder's future has been clouded in mystery after he stated that he wanted to play for Chelsea despite signing for United in April last year.

Teenager Mikel, who was due to join United in January from Norwegian club Lyn Oslo, said he had been put under pressure to sign a deal reportedly worth £4m ($7.11 million).

Mikel went missing last May after telling Norwegian TV that he had received threatening phone calls, although he returned to Norway and is currently playing for Nigeria at the African Nations Cup in Egypt.

"I think if you sat that boy down, away from all the pressure and all the threats he is under, and asked him who he wanted to play for, the answer would be Manchester United," said Ferguson.

"I really do believe that. He is a marvellous player. I hope to see him playing in a red jersey. We have the rights there is no doubt about that."

Ferguson fears he could still miss out on the player as FIFA have yet to make a decision on the situation after a Norwegian court rejected Mikel's claim in January that the paperwork surrounding his transfer to United was fake.

"We haven't heard a thing from FIFA and this is what's worrying us," he added. "FIFA said they would rely on the court decision. The court decision went back to FIFA and we've heard nothing."

Earlier this week a letter written by Manchester United to FIFA eight months ago regarding the conduct of Chelsea was leaked to the BBC Radio Five.

In it, United called for FIFA to impose a transfer ban on Chelsea, with whom Mikel trained in 2004, as well as barring them from certain tournaments.

Chelsea released a strongly-worded statement in reply, saying any allegations against them had no foundation."

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