AFCON 2019: What Obi Mikel’s return means to Super Eagles – Odion Ighalo

Nigeria striker, Odion Ighalo, has described captain, John Obi Mikel’s return to the Super Eagles’ squad as a big plus.

The Shanghai Shenhua star stated that it was great to have the former Chelsea star return to Gernot Rohr’s side, adding that the 32-year-old is a legend.

Mikel Obi, who has not played competitively for Nigeria since last year’s World Cup in Russia, is currently without a club after Middlesbrough released him.

The midfielder will captain Nigeria at the 2019 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, in Egypt.

”He is our captain, he is a good leader, it’s great to have him back, the motivation he brings to the team,” Ighalo told the Super Eagles media team.

”He didn’t play the qualifiers, we did well without him, him joining us is a big plus because teams in Africa will get scared a bit with Mikel in the Super Eagles squad.

”He has done great for club and country, he is a legend. He can play, he is still fresh, he is still doing what he knows how to do best.

”He’s a good passer of the ball which every striker will be happy to have in his side. For me, I am really happy he is back and hopefully we can achieve what we want to achieve together by God’s grace.”