Mikel scores for Stoke City in friendly as manager O’Neill hails his quality

Former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi has kicked off his career at Stoke City on a good note after he scored a goal for the Championship club in a friendly game on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old, who joined the side this month, helped the team record a 5-1 win against Shrewsbury Town in a closed door friendly at Clayton Wood.

Mikel netted his side’s second goal of the game, and was replaced at half-time by Tom Ince.

After the gane, Stoke manager Michael O’Neil admitted that the former Chelsea star, who turned down deals from Russian and English clubs, was already showing his quality in training.

“John’s been great in his first few days. You can see his quality, there’s no doubt, people in the group see his quality,” O’Neil said.

Read Also: Mikel hopes to replicate ‘Chelsea winning mentality’ at Stoke City

“I think when you bring a player of that quality in, it’s going to improve you and that’s what we’re always looking to do, looking to improve the squad, improve the quality in the squad and John does that.”

Mikel had not played since March when he left Turkish club, Trabzonspor, and the manager believes he needs more playing time to fully return to form.

“I can’t expect too much too soon from him either. He hasn’t played since March and his time at Trabzonspor so it’s going to take a little bit of time for him – but it’s evident already we’ve seen his quality in training.

“That’s a position, I think, where we need a bit of help to build the game in our own half,” the manager added.

Mikel had said he wanted to replicate the winning mentality he enjoyed at Chelsea during his 11-year stay at the Premier League side.

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