Super
Eagles Chief Coach Salisu Yusuf says senior national team captain John
Obi Mikel’s position in the team would not be threatened by his recent
transfer from Chelsea in the English Premier League to Tianjin TEDA in
the Chinese Super League.
In a chat with Daily Trust yesterday, the former Kano Pillars boss added that the standard of the Chinese top flight wouldn’t also matter considering the fact that Mikel has completed his football development in one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
“For upcoming players that might be the case but for someone in the calibre of Mikel it’s totally different because he has spent over a decade with one of the biggest teams in Europe and knows exactly what’s needed of him in every situation,” Yusuf noted.Meanwhile, Mikel was said to have impressed in his first training session with Tianjin TEDA on Sunday morning despite his lack of game time at Premier League giants Chelsea in the first half of the season.
Officials of Tianjin TEDA had granted the holding midfielder permission to return to London and have few days of rest shortly after his medical in Amsterdam, but he chose to fly to Malaga, where the Chinese Super League club are holding a training camp ahead of the new season.
“After eleven years at Chelsea, each teammate cannot wait to see me, this time I finally cannot wait to see my teammates,” Mikel was quoted as saying by Netease Sports.
“I asked Oscar his views; he told me that you should come to China to play.” The Rio 2016 Olympics bronze medalist said.
Before the start of training, Mikel was welcomed by his new teammates and coaching staff, and he communicated well with his teammates during practice.
In a chat with Daily Trust yesterday, the former Kano Pillars boss added that the standard of the Chinese top flight wouldn’t also matter considering the fact that Mikel has completed his football development in one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
“For upcoming players that might be the case but for someone in the calibre of Mikel it’s totally different because he has spent over a decade with one of the biggest teams in Europe and knows exactly what’s needed of him in every situation,” Yusuf noted.Meanwhile, Mikel was said to have impressed in his first training session with Tianjin TEDA on Sunday morning despite his lack of game time at Premier League giants Chelsea in the first half of the season.
Officials of Tianjin TEDA had granted the holding midfielder permission to return to London and have few days of rest shortly after his medical in Amsterdam, but he chose to fly to Malaga, where the Chinese Super League club are holding a training camp ahead of the new season.
“After eleven years at Chelsea, each teammate cannot wait to see me, this time I finally cannot wait to see my teammates,” Mikel was quoted as saying by Netease Sports.
“I asked Oscar his views; he told me that you should come to China to play.” The Rio 2016 Olympics bronze medalist said.
Before the start of training, Mikel was welcomed by his new teammates and coaching staff, and he communicated well with his teammates during practice.
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