Mikel Obi may be leaving Chelsea for the Rio 2016 Olympic Men’s football Tournament with Nigeria but the 29-year-old is leaving his new manager, Antonio Conte with some serious thoughts about a regular shirt in the new Blues.
There have been speculations the Nigeria International will end up the odd man out or just surplus to requirement at Cobhams especially since the arrival of last season’s Champion, N’golo Kante.
Along with John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, Mikel is one of three longest serving senior members of the Chelsea squad but his has often taken a laid back role at the club despite being one of the most gifted midfielders the club has seen.
Mikel is in his 10th season at Chelsea and under Conte he has played some part this pre season; along with Nemanja Matic and academy graduate, Reuben Loftus Cheek.
So as concerns grow back home over his continued relevance at the bridge with Conte looking to erase what was a dismal campaign last season, Mikel could as well lead Nigeria to gold in Rio to further make that impression Conte so badly wants to see.