Middlesbrough of England midfielder, John Mikel Obi has received top notch words of praise from one of his teammates, George Saville, who says the January signing is nice, fantastic and polite.
Sports247.ng gathered that Saville was in Chelsea’s reserves during Mikel’s days with The Blues, but they are now on the same level at The Riverside, yet the Boro star is still giving respect to the new arrival.
Saville admitted he relishes playing with Mikel in Boro’s midfield, with a verdict that the English Championship outfit are also benefiting from the Super Eagles captain, who arrived as a free agent last month.
Mikel made the move to Middlesbrough after terminating his contract with Tianjin Teda of China at the end of last year, and he is settling down fast at the second-tier club that once had the trio of Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Kenneth Omeruo and Bartholomew Ogbeche on their roll call.
In only his fourth match with Boro, Mikel was named into Championship Team of The Week, after shinning for The Teasiders in a 1-0 win against Blackburn Rovers last Sunday.
That performance left Saville rating Mikel ‘fantastic’ and the midfielder, who was his teammate at Chelsea between 2011 and 2014, added that the former Lyn Oslo of Norway star adds good conduct to his top game.
Saville eulogised Mikel all the way, adding: “He’s just got that presence. You just know he’s there all the time.
“He does all this stuff that a footballer won’t usually get credit for; but he’s been getting the plaudits, which is good.
“He does the hard stuff really easy. He’s been a big lift for us. He’s really nice to have around the place.
“He’s a really nice guy off the field as well. I’m absolutely buzzing to have him here. He’s a fantastic guy. He’s polite, which goes a long way.
“He has given us the license to go and push and the confidence to push high up the pitch and cause havoc.”
