Mikel John Obi has yet to play for Chelsea this season, in part due to his commitments with the Nigerian national team, which included a fairly successfully Summer Olympic Games tournament where the Super Eagles won bronze. Mikel, as one of the two overage players allowed in the squad for the U23 tournament, not only captained the side, but also scored a rare goal and even paid out of his own pocket some of the team's travel expenses (which have now been reimbursed, supposedly).
And he's also turned recruiter now, apparently.
"I keep asking him: 'When are you going to come and play for Nigeria?' and he jokes: 'Whenever you come and invite me I will play!"
"I think it is something that we would have to discuss. If he wants to play, we would have to speak to the federation and make sure that he really wants to play for Nigeria. If he is ready, we can talk about, but in the few times we have talked about it, he hasn't given me a very positive, decisive answer to take back to the FA. I need a positive answer for me to take the case forward to the FA. We will see what happens."
The young player in question is Ola Aina, who was born in England to Nigerian parents and is celebrating his 20th birthday today. He made his Chelsea debut earlier this season in the League Cup second round, after impressing and earning his spot in the squad during the summer.
"Aina is a very, very good player. He has improved quite a lot after playing in a few friendly games and he played really, really well. I was quite impressed by his performances and it is only a matter of time before these kids break into the first team."
Ola Aina has represented England at various youth levels, but has not been capped at senior level, so there's yet an opportunity to switch to the "motherland" if he so chooses.
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