Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel says his decision to move to Chinese side Tianjin Teda was primarily done to aid Nigeria’s push to be at the 2018 World Cup in Brazil.

Mikel was frozen out of the first team picture by coach of Chelsea Antonio Conte, but the captain of the Nigeria team remained a regular for the national team despite his lack of games at club level.

He decided to move to Tianjin Teda on a three year deal in order to get playing time, and despite the fact that he will be getting double his former pay in China, the 29 year old insist the move wasn’t all about money.

” I could easily have stayed in Chelsea for the remaining six months of my contract but it won’t be in the best interest of my nation, as they need me match fit when the World Cup 2018 qualifiers resume”, Mikel told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” It wasn’t an easy decision to make but I seriously need matches to stay fit for Nigeria. Nigerians don’t deserve to miss out of the World Cup after back to back failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations”.

The coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says players of Nigeria team are on the list of some of the most talented bunch he has handled as a manager.

The Franco-German coach was appointed coach of Nigeria last year with a clear mandate to ensure that Nigeria qualifies for the World Cup 2018 in Russia.

Rohr has handled the Eagles in three games, and has a perfect run after picking up victories in the three games against Tanzania, Zambia and Algeria respectively.

While many has praised his tactical nous as part of the reason why the team is excelling in the World Cup 2018 qualifiers, where they are currently top of their group, the manager insist that it wouldn’t have been possible without his players.

” When you walk with the set of players that I have, they make your job easy. They are clearly in the list of one of the best bunch of players I have coached in my career. They are humble and easy to coach”, Rohr said to Owngoalnigeria.com during an interview at the Glo CAF Award gala.

The possible invitation of Bournemouth star Jordon Ibe to the Super Eagles of Nigeria won’t be as fast as many have expected with coach Gernot Rohr admitting that competition is stiff in the attack of the team.

Ibe has indicated his willingness to play for Nigeria after initially snubbing overtures to play for the team, when he had his breakthrough at Liverpool.

However will his decision has been hailed by some Nigerians, who view him as a positive addition to the firepower of the team, the coach says his inclusion will be based on merit.

” We have options in attack, and if Ibe is truly willing to play for Nigeria then he will also be a part of the options we have in attack. He is a good player but other players in his position are not doing bad as well”, Rohr told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” The idea is to select the best players for Nigeria at all time. We need our best legs to help our dream of going to the World Cup 2018, hopefully we will have the players we want for specific games”.

Head coach of German side Wolfsburg has praised the qualities of teen Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen who has been officially as a player of the Bundesliga side.
Osimhen is yet to join Wolfsburg in training as he is still recovering from a minor surgery, but coach Valerien Ismael is confident that the Nigerian will be a positive addition to his team when he is fit.
“Although just 18, Victor already possesses great presence in attack. He has a good eye for goal and is fast for a lad of his height. He does need to build up a bit physically and get used to how football is played in Germany, but we intend to help him take those steps,” Ismael said to the official website of the team.
His claims were supported by the Sporting Director of the team, who says the talented forward who finished as top scorer at the last U-17 World Cup in Chile fits the policy of the club when it comes to developing young players.
“We have been intensively observing Victor’s development over a long period and we were able to secure the signing in spite of interest from big clubs from abroad. Victor‘s profile totally fits into our philosophy of not only developing talented young players from within the club, but also binding foreign players to VfL in the long-term,” explained VfL’s Sporting director Olaf Rebbe.
“We pay close attention to international tournaments in all age-groups. The U17 World Cup in Chile proved particularly interesting. In Ismail Azzaoui, Josip Brekalo and now Victor Osimhen, we have three players in our squad that participated in that tournament.”

Picture Credit: Wolfsburg

Mesut Ozil received a surprise response from an Arsenal fan after posting a picture of himself back in London following his full recovery from a flu attack that has kept him out for two weeks.

Ozil has been away due to the infection and in his absence Alex Iwobi played in the number 10 role that the German usually occupies for Arsenal in their 3-4-3 system.

Iwobi put up a strong show in his first game in the number 10 role behind the main striker with a goal to his name as Arsenal secure a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Although he didn’t play at the same level in their 3-3 draw against Bournemouth, he recovered and put up a performance well above average, picking up an assist as they recovered from going a goal behind by posting Preston North End 2-1.

The fan appears to have see enough of what he believes the Nigerian will add to the team If he keeps playing in the number 10 role, and even want manager Arsene Wenger to drop Ozil for the Nigerian.

See tweet below

John Obi Mikel transfer from Chelsea to Chinese side Tianjin Teda happened after the Blues decided not only to allow him leave for free but also reward him for his long service with a severance fee.

The captain of the senior Nigeria national team left Chelsea after ten and half years at the club, after falling out of favour with current manager Antonio Conte.

Conte didn’t name the Nigerian in any of his match day squad, as his table topping side relied on Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante as the midfield pair in their 3-4-3 system.

Mikel according to an intermediary close to him was paid the total wage of the remaining six months of his contract before his move to Tianjin Teda, on a deal twice his pay at Chelsea.

He reportedly received a severance fee worth £2m from Chelsea, which is the total pay package of the last six months of his deal with the Blues.

Captain of the Nigeria senior national team John Obi Mikel was few details away from joining Spanish La-Liga side Valencia before his move to Chinese side Tianjin Teda.

Mikel provisionally agreed a deal to Valencia, but the departure of coach Cesare Prandelli and the Sporting Director who convinced him about the project of the club discouraged him from penning a four year deal with them.

Even before the departure of the duo, Mikel refused to accept their offer of a weekly pay of £100,000, and the club were mulling over an increase for him before he pulled the plug on the deal.

He reportedly gave Valencia 48 hours to get back to him with an improved offer but before the expiration of the set deadline, Chinese side Tianjin Teda came up with a £140,000 a week deal.

The amount offered by the Chinese side was well within the range of what his financial demands are, and the deal was wrapped up in 48 hours with Mikel having a medical before signing on with the team on a three year deal.