John Obi Mikel rates French teen Gael Kakuta as the most skilful player at Chelsea.

Kakuta caught the eye on his Premiership debut in Saturday's thumping of Wolves.

"In terms of skill, he is the best at the club," said Mikel. "When he’s got the ball, the skills just come and you know he’s doing it naturally. He’s a fantastic player. The only way to stop him is to kick him. That’s what we do in training."

Mikel also recognises a young man cut loose from his chains. Not only was it Kakuta’s debut for the club, it was also his first game since a four-month ban, imposed by FIFA for his illegal transfer from Lens, was suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport pending an appeal.

"You can see how relieved he was, how free he was, running around the pitch," added Mikel. "You can see he’s hungry. He wants to show the fans what he’s got."