Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has hailed the improvement of midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Cech was already at the club when Mikel joined from Lyn Oslo in 2006 and is in no doubt he has developed into a key member of the squad.

He said: "Everybody has their opinion but ever since John Obi joined us he's been a player who has played a lot of games - all the important games.

"He's never missing. If he's available for selection, he plays. He's very useful and part of our success in the last few years. He's a massive player for us and we're happy to have him in the team, no matter what other people think."