Arsenal and United join the hunt for Essien

CHELSEA face renewed opposition from Manchester United and Arsenal for the services of Lyon midfielder Michael Essien.

The French champions have already rejected Chelsea's latest bid of € 30.5 million for the midfield star, and chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has now hinted there is interest from two of their Premiership rivals.

Chelsea have been leading the race to sign the Ghana international and have been haggling over the fee with Lyon for the last month. But so far Chelsea's offer has fallen way short of the € 43.5m required by Lyon.