Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel
who has been rock solid in the midfield for Middlesbrough now has a nickname,
teammate Briit Assombalonga has revealed.
The former Chelsea player who arrived
the English Championship in January has been dubbed uncle by his teamates.
“Uncle – I call him Uncle – is a real
rock in midfield,” said admiring striker Assombalonga.
“You can just see the pure quality he
brings to the pitch in midfield in every game.
“When you have that quality and
experience on the pitch you always have an extra edge and an advantage.
“He lets the other boys in midfield
go out and express themselves.”
Certainly, his solidity in the
holding role has given Lewis Wing and Mo Besic license to push higher up the
field.
“He is incredible,” enthused £15m
record buy Assombalonga. “He drags players towards him and that creates time
and space somewhere else and then he gets the ball, keeps the ball and threads
it into those empty space for someone to pick up and use.
“You can give him the ball even when
he has players on him and he always gets out of sticky situations and finds
space.
“You can give him the ball absolutely
anywhere on the pitch and he will manoeuvre and find a space or an angle and
find a way to give it to someone else in a better position. He’s awesome.”
Mikel, now 31, has won almost
everything in his club career with Chelsea including the Champion League.
Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup.
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