The feeling of being replaced is never a nice one, knowing that someone considers you to be a worse player than the one he’s chosen. Often it can lead to that player leaving or occupying a seat on the bench every week. An ugly situation, but one which most players go through in their careers.
John Obi Mikel is a player currently going through this dilemma as he has effectively been replaced by Nemanja Matic. Chelsea’s newest signing arrived towards the end of January along with Mohamed Salah who is finding difficulty getting in the first team. The Ramires-Matic-Lampard trio was a common feature of Chelsea’s starting XI for the latter part of the season. When Ramires wasn’t suspended.
But, according to SkySports, Mikel is set to be handed an escape route out of Stamford Bridge with Inter Milan calling for his name. The Inter coach himself, Walter Mazzarri, has selected Mikel and Luis Gustavo of Wolfsburg as his options for midfield. His stay has been sprinkled with success, but has never really stood out from the rest at any given time.
Here are three reasons why his stay is at an end:
1. He’s simply not good enough to be part of a Chelsea squad that are looking to regain their dominance in the Premier League and Champions League. He’s always available for a pass and will make crucial tackles, his problem is that he doesn’t appear to be confident enough outside his comfort zone. He’s content with making the easiest passes and not really pushing the boundaries. Mikel is often criticised for this
2. The reason why Mikel hasn’t featured as much as he’d like to this season; Nemanja Matic. To put it bluntly, Mikel should be sold because Chelsea have Matic now. Yes there’s an argument that Mikel should stay as he will provide depth. However, Chelsea have players that can step in. Frank Lampard, David Luiz, Marco van Ginkel, Ramires and even Oscar. If they’re told to sit in the pocket between the defence and the midfield, then they’ll do it.
3. Marco van Ginkel. The 21-year-old has been spoken very highly of by the Chelsea scouts, however, he’s yet to prove why due to injury. Judging by what they’ve said on him in their dossier, he is apparently a player who has all the capabilities to play anywhere in the midfield. Even Mikel’s position. Ginkel appears to be the future of Chelsea so Jose Mourinho will want to give him as much game time as possible, making Mikel even less important.
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