According to The Sun (h/t Hull Live), John Mikel Obi turned down a move to Aston Villa in favour of Middlesbrough last month. Two years after the 31-year-old left Chelsea for Chinese Super League side TJ Teda, he was on the hunt for a club in England and opted for the Riverside when the chance arose.
Villa and Derby County were among the clubs interested in his signature, but Mikel surprisingly chose the side without a former Chelsea teammate among the coaching ranks – John Terry is an assistant at Villa while Frank Lampard is the Derby manager.
Mikel spent 11 years at Chelsea, making 372 appearances in all competitions. He finally left the London club in January 2017 with two Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two EFL Cups, one Europa League and one Champions League trophy.
He signed a six-month deal with Middlesbrough on January 24 and has been a regular in the midfield ever since. Mikel has made five appearances in the Championship, averaging a tackle (11) or interception (2) every 33 minutes and making 42 passes-per-game with 83% accuracy. He’s also featured once in the FA Cup.
Villa went on sign Tom Carroll on loan from Swansea for the rest of the season.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
https://astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk/they-need-to-win-david-prutton-makes-prediction-for-aston-villa-vs-stoke-city/
