Nigerian midfielder, John Obi Mikel, is resuscitating a club career that was gradually dying under the regime of Jose Mourinho.
Mikel’s appearances trimmed down to nine in all competitions for the blues – just 15 times less for total participation in all of Chelsea’s matches throughout the 2014/2015 season.
His future at Stamford Bridge had come under doubt with less playing time and Mourinho not ‘favouring’ the player until he was sacked and Guus Hiddink brought in as a replacement in the interim.
Hiddink has since offered Mikel Obi more playing time within the shortest period than Mourinho did in recent times – the Nigerian made four appearances for the Blues from August 18 to September 24, but that has been surpassed under the new Dutch manager.
Whilst Hiddink awaited resumption, Mikel featured for Chelsea in the 3-1 win over Sunderland; his first since October 2015.
Since then, he has made three other appearances within two weeks, in the games against Watford, Manchester United and the first tie in 2016 with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, which have all contributed to his 352 appearances for Chelsea.
Following the resurgence and a seemingly strong faith in the Nigerian from the Dutch manager, Mikel, the third oldest in the current Chelsea line up, is being tipped to help the club regain its spot on the log with some likening him to a ‘deity’.
While Chelsea hounded Palace 3-0 in front of their home crowd at the Park, Mikel dominated Twitter trends in Nigeria with messages from fans who poured in accolades of appreciation and dignation.
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