Michael Essien’s future at Chelsea is in great doubt after sitting out the Champions League win over Bayern Munich on Saturday. The Blues clinched their first ever Champions League title after beating the German giants 4-3 in a pulsating penalty shootout at the Alianz Arena. The Ghana international failed to come off the substitute bench with rookie Ryan Bertrand the preferred starting choice of coach Roberto Di Matteo. Essien has made only 14 starts – two in the Champions League for the Blues this term since returning from a lengthy injury layoff in January. The 29-year-old has been heavily linked to Russian big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala amidst growing perception he is not liked by the interim boss. He however has three more years left to run on his reported £90,000 a-week-deal, meaning suitors will have to fork out a substantial amount of cash to price away the powerful midfielder. Essien joined the London club from French giants Olympique Lyon after the Blues paid in excess of £24m which was then the highest transfer cost of an African player in 2005. He has gone on to make 163 appearances for Chelsea scoring 17 goals since his move to Stamford Bridge.