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Mikel set to sign one deal with Stoke City

By Ifetoye Samuel
16 August 2020   |   3:59 am
Former Super Eagles captain, Mikel John Obi, is set to pen on papers with the English Championship side, Stoke, on a one year contract.

Mikel. Photo: MIDDLEEASTMONITOR

Former Super Eagles captain, Mikel John Obi, is set to pen on papers with the English Championship side, Stoke, on a one year contract.

Mikel, who appeared in two World Cups for his country, won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa, and then retired immediately from International football after last year’s Total AFCON in Egypt, having won 89 caps for Nigeria.

The former Chelsea’s star made 249 English Premier League appearances in an 11-year stint; winning the Champions League, Europa League, two Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and the League Cup with the London side before his departure in 2017.

On leaving Stamford Bridge he joined the Chinese side, Tianjin TEDA and had a brief spell at Middlesbrough in 2019.

Mikel joined the Turkish side, Trabzonspor and later left the club by mutual consent in March to be became a free agent.

Last week, the former Nigerian International disclosed to BBC Sport Africa that he was open to a return to English football.

Stoke City won three of their last four games in 2019-20 to pull away from relegation trouble and finish 15th under former Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill as his side lost 2-1 to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Friday, with Pep Guardiola’s men advancing to the quarter-finals 4-2 on aggregate.

Madrid won the revamped Supercopa de Espana in January and claimed the LaLiga title after going 11 matches unbeaten when the competition restarted following the coronavirus-enforced break.

Ramos is proud of those triumphs but accepts being knocked out at the last-16 stage in Europe is not good enough for a club of their stature.

“An extremely strange season is over and the taste is bittersweet,” he wrote on Twitter.

“This year has been very hard on everyone. But we are Real Madrid and we were set to win everything. Credit must be given to winning the Liga under such exceptional circumstances and the Spanish Supercup.

“However, being eliminated [sic] from the Champions League leaves us with a bitter aftertaste: we wanted more.

Now it is time to rest to come back and fight for the next season. This badge and this history always deserve it all. In victory, in defeat, always: HALA MADRID.

“Thank you for your unconditional support, even in the distance.”
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