So yesterday we saw Real Madrid knocked out of the Champions League as Borussia Dortmund booked their place in the final, which led to the inevitable speculation about the future of Jose Mourinho. We also had speculation about potential Mourinho transfer targets, as well as some talk of Frank Lampard extending his stay in London for one more season.

One thing that was missing yesterday was any sort of mention of Michael Essien, but that was rectified early this morning with some quotes from the player himself:

"I will return to Chelsea with my head up and try to win my place back. I think my loan at Madrid has shown I have still got it at the top level."

Mourinho or no Mourinho, bringing back Essien just makes far too much sense to ignore. He's nowhere near the player he was when he first came to Chelsea under "daddy", but he's still an excellent player that would provide valuable depth and experience.

Essien wouldn't add any sort of dynamic passer to the Chelsea midfield, but he does still offer a solid, well-rounded game while making basically no mental errors. If our new manager can't find a use for that, he probably shouldn't be considered for the Chelsea job anyway. I can't wait to see you back in blue next season Michael...we've all missed you.