Manchester United have fallen a lot behind their title rivals in the Premier League table. Right now, the Red Devils are 11 points behind Jose Mourinho’s former club Chelsea, who sit at the top of the table. Arsenal are in the final Champions League spot, eight points ahead of United. The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ has done nothing special since he took over at Old Trafford but it is high time he comes up with something out of the box.
Looking at the shambles Manchester United have been in since the start of the season, it is expected that Mourinho will look forward to the January transfer window in order to bolster his squad. However, believing this rumour is so damn hard. The Daily Star claims that Mourinho is looking to bring out of favour Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel at Old Trafford in January to shore up the Red Devils defensive setup.
This is Mikel’s 11th season at Stamford Bridge but he has not particularly enjoyed life under Antonio Conte. The Italian gaffer has tried different formations this season after taking the job at Stamford Bridge but Mikel has not played a single minute for the Blues. Reports are claiming that the Nigerian will be available for a cut-price deal as Chelsea look to get him off their book.
Mikel could have been a Manchester United player more than a decade ago but ended up at Chelsea in a controversial transfer but he could finally be a Red Devil in January. The Nigerian has enjoyed plenty of success at Stamford Bridge over the years, winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup and the Europa League but is totally out of favour right now.
Mikel is an experienced midfielder having played 372 games for Chelsea over the years and 73 games for Nigeria. He serves Nigeria with the armband and the experience of the 29-year-old could prove to be priceless for United.
With Carrick at the dusk of his career, Manchester United are in serious need of a quality defensive midfielder who can not only protect the back four but also set the foundation of the side with his passing. But the latter is one area where Mikel will be a big letdown.
Mikel’s defensive discipline has always been top-notch. He is not a player who always does the dirty work, he hardly needs to do so. Positioning is a key facet in Mikel’s game and he hardly bombs forward and is blessed with solid intercepting skills. But, the Nigerian international can’t control a game like Carrick or Schweinsteiger. You will never see him picking out a 30 or a 40-yard pass. Only lateral passes are far from good enough.
There is a reason why Mikel has been just a squad player at Chelsea for so long. He is too one-dimensional. The best defensive midfielders of the game contribute much more to the team than Mikel does. If Mourinho is looking for just a bench player in Mikel, then well and good or else there are so many better and younger players up for grabs and the Red Devils do not have any shortage of monetary power.
