By ED AARONS
MICHAEL ESSIEN will link up with Jose Mourinho again after completing a season-long loan move to Real Madrid.
The Ghanaian had been linked with Everton after being left out of the Chelsea squad that lost 4-1 to Atletico Madrid in last night’s European Super Cup.
But a sensational last-minute swoop means he will be re-united with ex-Blues chief Mourinho at the Bernabeu seven years after he signed him from Lyon for £24m.
Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo confirmed before kick-off in Monaco that 29-year-old Essien was hoping to seal a temporary switch away from Stamford Bridge.
And after West Ham agreed to take Yossi Benayoun on a season-long loan, Essien was also given the green light to seal his move to La Liga.
Essien’s switch means Chelsea have shipped four players out on loan in the last 24 hours. Gael Kakuta, Nathaniel Chalobah and Thorgan Hazard will also start the season away from Stamford Bridge.
Centre-half Chalobah, 17, has linked up with former Blues favourite Gianfranco Zola at Watford until the end of the year.
Chalobah only signed a professional contract at Stamford Bridge six months ago.
French winger Kakuta, 21, joined Vitesse Arnhem for his fourth loan spell in two years after previously spending time at Fulham, Bolton and Dijon.
Playmaker Hazard, the 19-year-old younger brother of £32m midfielder Eden, has joined Belgian minnows Zulte Waregem.
The latest deals mean the European champions now have a staggering TWENTY-TWO players out on loan. They include senior internationals Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku as well as England Under-21 star Josh McEachran.
