mikel-obi
John Mikel Obi

If recent media reports are anything to go by, the curtain will soon be drawn on the incumbent Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi’s stay at the English Premiership giants, Chelsea Football Club. The mercurial Nigerian midfielder who inspired the Nigeria Olympic football side to a widely celebrated Bronze medal finish at the just concluded Rio Olympic Games gave the hint of his imminent exit himself.

Mikel whose 2005 transfer from Norwegian side, Lyn Oslo to Chelsea caused something of a global media ripple (forcing a scramble between three frontline Premiership sides Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea) wrote on his Instagram page: “I have one year left on my contract. When you have a year left as a football player, you have to start planning and start thinking about what’s going to happen at the end of the season. Yes there are going to be conversations between clubs. I have been here for a long, long time. I’ve spent 11 years of my life in this football club, it is my home. This season is the last at the club if my contract ends. I am quite relaxed about it, the future looks good.”

So sure that next summer is most likely not going to have Mikel’s implication with actions at the Stamford Bridge, soccer pundits and football statisticians are already up with the player’s fact file with the Blues. Already in his final year at the club, the 29 year old player is yet to play a game under new manager Antonio Conte. Although he had won many titles (including the European Champions League and a good number of the League shield and F.A. cups), his cumulative goals haul at Chelsea is quite paltry.

Mikel has been recently linked with interests from several European clubs including Inter-Milan as well as clubs in the money-spinning Chinese league. He is certainly going to find solace in his new found good run with the Super Eagles, where his image and personality are attracting a wide measure of respect.