16th August, 2020
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Ex-Super Eagles player and former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi is set to join English side Stoke City on a one-year deal.
According to BBC Sports reports, the former Nigeria captain has been a free agent since leaving the Turkish side Trabzonspor and plans to return to English football.
The 33-year-old left Trabzonspor by mutual consent in March.
Stoke would be Mikel’s third English club after Chelsea and Middlesbrough.
Mikel made 249 Premier League appearances for Chelsea in an 11-year spell, which ended when he left Stamford Bridge in 2017.
He won the Champions League and Europa League, two Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and the League Cup with the London side.
Since leaving Chelsea, Mikel has featured for Chinese side Tianjin TEDA, Middlesbrough and Trabzonspor.
He was capped 89 times for Nigeria, helping the Super Eagles win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, before announcing his retirement from international football last summer.
Championship side Stoke survived relegation with a late fight towards the end of the 2019-20 campaign.