The 34-year-old has been warming the bench of Persib Bandug due to difficulty adapting to the climatic coditions in Indonesia coulpled with other factors.

Michael Essien is the highest paid player in the Indonesian league and according to Yudii Guntara, a legend of Persbib Bandung the club can't continue to keep big names like Carlton Cole and his former Chelsea teammate, who are not getting plenty of match playing time.

READ MORE: Africa U-17 Championship Ghana beat Cameroon 4-0

"Yes we can see that the rich foreign players the club brought in the person of Essien , Cole, and Matsunaga are constantly on the bench. I think only Vlado (Vladimir) is the only effective one," he is quoted by Sriwijaya.

"There are other considerations why they are not on top. Whether its physical or not, Essien and Cole have not been at the top level.

"Try to compare with other teams, other teams always take advantage of foreign players and marquee signings. I don't think they will be here after the first round."

The Ghana international have previously played for European clubs like Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Panathinaikos,before making the move to the Asian world.