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As some Chelsea legends return to the club in non-playing roles, others are continuing to go strong with their playing careers still. One of those is Champions League-winner Mikel John Obi, who came back to Europe in January after two seasons in the Chinese Super League, joining Middlesbrough in the Championship and nearly pushing them into the promotion playoffs.
Many expected Mikel to leverage that success into a potential Premier League return, but instead he’s opted try his luck in Turkey with Trabzonspor, who finished fourth in the Süper Lig last season. Mikel joins fellow Nigerian midfielder Ogenyi Onazi at the club — they’re both busy at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations currently but still managed to find time to arrange and agree to the transfer at some point.
The 32-year-old veteran midfielder has signed a two-year contract, with an option for a third.
Good luck, Mikel!
Serbest statüde bulunan, Nijerya Milli Takımının kaptanı, Profesyonel Futbolcu John Mikel Obi ile kulübümüze transferi konusunda bir yılı opsiyonlu olmak üzere 2+1 yıllık anlaşma sağlanmıştır.
— Trabzonspor Kulübü (@Trabzonspor) June 30, 2019
Detaylar https://t.co/Wfqj6shOzC pic.twitter.com/dW3jXVhguM
Ed.note: Ironically, Mikel was (in)famously the subject of a made-up interview about him joining Galatasaray back in 2013. Six years later, Mikel’s indeed moving to Turkey, although to the opposite end of the country from Istanbul.