Former Super Eagles striker, Jonathan Akpoborie, has sent a passionate appeal to Eagles mercurial midfielder, Mikel Obi, to dump English Premiership club, Chelsea FC, if he is to be Africa’s best player for 2013.
Mikel was outstanding at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations as Nigeria won a third continental diadem and he also shone at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil in June.
He equally contributed to Chelsea winning the UEFA Europa League, a season after they won a historic UEFA Champions League trophy.
But former VfB Stuttgart and Wolfsburg forward Akpoborie said he believes all those exploits won’t be enough to earn the Chelsea midfielder the CAF African Player of 2013, if he is not playing regularly at his English Premier League club before the end of the year.
“Mikel is a sure candidate for the Africa Player of the Year 2013 going by what he did at the Nations Cup and Confederations Cup for Nigeria. He also did well for Chelsea as they won the Europa League, but all those efforts will be in vain if he doesn’t get to play regularly for his club,” Akpoborie said.
“He needs to leave Chelsea now for him to get chance to win the award. The handwriting is on the wall that he is not (Chelsea manager Jose) Mourinho’s first choice.
“In my own opinion, Mikel should now go to Napoli.”
This summer, Napoli, Anzhi and Turkish giants Galatasaray have expressed interest in the player, who has yet to feature for Chelsea in the EPL thus far.
