When Nigeria’s Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel opted to move from China’s Tianjin Teda to Middlesbrough in the English Champoinship, not many football pundits gave him a chance to blossom.

However, with just a few weeks down the line, the narrative has changed a great deal and Mikel is getting all the accolades, especially his five-star performance in their 1-0 win over Blackburn on Sunday courtesy of a 19th minute strike by Britt Assambalonga.

According to his coach, Tony Pulis, Boro was nott the only club keen on signing Mikel in January. Pulis said the Nigerian had loads of options, with clubs in the Premier League and in other top European leagues reportedly interested in the playmaker.

Just as he has been putting up commanding displays since his arrival at Boro, Mikel literally just strolled through against Blackburn, hardly breaking a sweat, giving the ball away nor giving Bradley Dack a sniff of the ball.

As recorded by football statistics website, Whoscored.com, Mikel, who played in a deep-lying role racked up two dribbles, made one tackle, struck one shot and had a pass success rate of 90 percent.

According to the site which described Mikel as the ‘Rolls Royce midfielder’, the player made 63 touches, had 52 attempted passes and 47 passes completed.

This is even as euphoric Middlesbrough fans have besieged the club’s official website to compose an anthem for the 31-year old, christening him the ‘African Zidane.

Middlesbrough are currently occupied the fifth position on the English Championship table and have a good chance of getting a promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season.

Mikel’s new found form will be gladdening to many, especially the Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr who had before now, shown reservation with the inactivity of his skipper.

Injuries and club engagement had prevented Mikel from playing for the Super Eagles since Nigeria’s unceremonious exit at the Russia 2018 World Cup.