Mikel's Move To Chelsea - Good For Nigeria Or The Player?

Before I give my opinion I would like to state that i am in no way a Man Utd fan nor am i having a go at Chelsea  FC. My opinion is strictly  from the development of the player and the Super Eagles.

I think Mikel would have flourished more at Man Utd. At the time Utd tried to sign him they were lacking a good or creative midfielder. This was when the Keane/Scholes partnership was coming to an end and also before the arrival of Carrick, Hargreaves and co. At Chelsea he plays a more defensive role, which is probably not what we need in the Super Eagles right now. I think what we lacked in the last African Cup of Nations is a player who is creative and can control the tempo of a match. In Chelsea he is only used for the defensive part of his game probably because of the players in their squad - good for Chelsea but necessary for the Super Eagles and Mikel (ultimately).

At Man utd, the midfielders are allowed to moto forward. In my opinion Mikel can be equally good attacking as he is defensively (al Viera, Scholes). In terms of development i think he is now falling short when compared to the likes of Messi. Nigeria desperately needs creative players to replace the likes of Kanu and Okocha. The likes of Ethuhu, Olofinjana can do all the mopping up in the Midfield.