It has become a norm in the modern game to see players with high expectations become lost or fall short along the way their playing career, but you have to look at the implications of John Obi Mikel’s move to Chelsea when he joined.

Did he go to Chelsea because he thought he would get first team football, or did he see it as a opportunity to be part of a big club and move away from the Norwegian side, Lyn Oslo?

There was a huge buzz surrounding John Obi Mikel as a young up and coming talent. The Nigerian international took the world by storm at the FIFA Youth World Championships in Nigeria, 2005, warranting him the right to be one of the most highly anticipated prospects in world football.

He epitomised his worth at the Under 17s FIFA World Cup with extraordinary performances through the tournament, the 24 year old was given the ‘Silver Ball’ after his team were runners ups to Argentina in the finals, which is not bad considering he came second to Lionel Messi .

Teams that paid special attention to Mikel’s progress were the Premier League’s top teams at the time, Manchester United and Chelsea.

The Nigerian born midfielder came to England with huge expectations, and it was clear that top teams around Europe had the young midfielder on their radar.

Since Mikel’s controversial move to Stamford Bridge in 2006, it’s fair to say that he has found it hard to establish himself as the top class player many football critics made him out to be. Jose Mourinho was adamant in finding a replacement for Makelele, and after impressing in a first team training session with Chelsea he believed the likes of John Obi Mikel would suit the mould.

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However, since then, the Chelsea midfielder has seen four managers come and go which has clearly not helped his development and his stability at the club. Furthermore, His failure to cement a primary role has proved costly to his position in the national side. The former Nigerian coach Samson Siasia said, “Sincerely Mikel is not the same player that I knew in 2005, when we finished second behind Argentina in the U20 World Cup.”

His commitment to the national side was brought into question after he was dropped from the Nigerian squad for not attending qualifying rounds during the African Nations and Olympics.

If we are talking about personal development, it would be silly to write off the man management skills of Jose Mourinho, but in all sincerity, Sir Alex Ferguson would have been the ideal candidate to taking Mikel’s football to the next level. United’s permanence at the time would have been enough to nurture John Obi Mikel into the player everyone expected him to be.

The Nigerian international has looked good in patches for the West London side, but if the truth be told it can argue that he has not succeeded in reaching his full potential. However, we’ve seen the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani exceed all expectations at United simply because of the faith Ferguson has showed in them.

Could the same be said for Mikel at Chelsea? Michael Essien has returned from injury and new manager Andres Villas Boas has brought in the likes of Oriol Romeu from Barcelona and Raul Miereles from Liverpool.

Although it seems that the Portuguese manager had opted for the Super Eagle in his first team, injuries in the last few weeks may cost him his position again. The 24 year old has been declared fit for the West Bromwich Albion for the weekend and with 18 appearances for Chelsea this season already he’ll be hoping to win his new manager over again.

Former Southampton player Jo Tessem, who worked with Mikel at Lyn Olso, said “He could go straight into a top Premiership club”. He’s done the hard part but six years down the line he is yet to fulfil his full potential as a complete midfielder.

Nonetheless, a move to Old Trafford would have not done his credentials at a young age any harm whatsoever, Mikel will have been at the club for 6 years now and despite his presence in stature, Chelsea fans will be the first to tell you he is not as great as he was made out to be.

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