Ndukwe urges Mikel to leave Chelsea

Mikel Obi

Patrick Osueke

Former Nigeria forward, Chukwu Ndukwe, has urged  the Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi, to leave Chelsea for another club in January.

Mikel has not played any game for  Chelsea since the  beginning  of the season.

Ndukwe, who  represented Nigeria at  the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations, praised the midfielder for his impressive display in the Eagles’ 3-1 defeat of Algeria in  their Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier in Uyo on Saturday.

The former Italy-based player  said, “Mikel played very well in the game against Algeria. He was the only one that could hold the ball for long, and he gave accurate passes. His movement was forward and I love the fact that he was asked to play beside  Kelechi  Ihenacho,” Ndukwe said on SuperSport.

“What I am concerned about is  how he can keep fit since he is  not playing for Chelsea now. For him to keep fit, he should look for a smaller club by January and he should not be waiting for a big club to sign him.

“He should join a smaller team to avoid being idle. He will need to maintain a good  match fitness before the  World Cup qualifiers  against Cameroon. The matches  are  still far and I believe that Mikel will be very important for  the Eagles in that game, so his being fit is very important. “

Meanwhile, former Nigeria forward, Victor Ikpeba, has urged the  Eagles to take their  next year’s Russia 2018 World Cup qualifying matches against Cameroon seriously.

 “We should not get carried away with the win against Algeria. We played very well against them with confidence and a higher determination than we have done in recent times. Also, we showed the hunger to win the game from the start and everyone watching could predict victory for the Eagles,” Ikpeba said on SuperSport.

“The game  against Cameroon (on August 28, 2017), which is next year, will be tougher than the one against Algeria. I can’t say how the game will look like for now but Nigeria need enough preparations  for it. Friendly matches will be a good avenue for the team to prepare well for the  match because it will show how well the Eagles have been preparing.”