Mikel Obi to sign for Stoke City

Mikel Obi Super Eagles

Former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi is set to sign for Stoke City on a one-year deal, BBC Sports reports.

The 33-year-old has been a free agent since leaving Turkish side Trabzonspor by mutual consent in March.

Stoke would be Mikel’s third English club after Chelsea and Middlesbrough.

The former Super Eagles captain had earlier this week told BBC Sport Africa he was open to a return to English football.

Mikel made 249 Premier League appearances for Chelsea in an 11-year spell, which ended when he left Stamford Bridge in 2017.

He won the Champions League and Europa League, two Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and the League Cup with the London side.

Since leaving Chelsea, Mikel has featured for Chinese side Tianjin TEDA, Middlesbrough and Trabzonspor.

He was capped 89 times for Nigeria, helping the Super Eagles win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, before announcing his retirement from international football last summer.

Championship side Stoke survived relegation with a late fight towards the end of the 2019-20 campaign.