Mikel inspires Chelsea youngster

Super Eagles mid fielder Mikel Obi has revealed how he used his own transfer saga to inspire French teenager Gael Kakuta to overcome the shock of the controversy surrounding his move to Chelsea.

Mikel endured a torrid time before joining the Blues in the summer of 2006 after the Stamford Bridge outfit was embroiled in a transfer wrangle with Manchester United for over a year over the signature of the Nigerian international.

Manchester United claimed an agreement had been reached between them and Norwegian side, Lyn Oslo in 2005 for Mikel to move to Old Trafford, but the Super Eagles play maker later declared he was only interested in joining Chelsea, a situation that led to transfer battle between the two English sides before they reached an amicable settlement in June 2006.

The world soccer body, FIFA, had to get involved and Mikel finally headed to Stamford Bridge after Chelsea coughed out £16 million with United getting £12 million while Lyn pocketed the rest.

Birds of a feather

The inevitable comparisons with Kakuta began after Chelsea were found guilty by FIFA of luring the 19 year old to breach his contract with RC Lens of France in 2007. Kakuta was banned from playing for four months, though the ban was suspended earlier this month pending the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sports on Chelsea’s appeal.

The French starlet finally made an impressive debut against the Wolves last Saturday and Mikel, in an interview on Chelsea’s website www.chelseafc.com, underlined his own role in motivating Kakuta to overcome the trauma of his transfer problems.

“’My friends and people in the club were speaking to me and giving me assurance that everything was going to be alright, which took a bit of time, but when I started playing I was so relieved and happy and I think it is the same with Gael Kakuta,” Mikel said.

“’I spoke to him (Kakuta) about it, he knew what happened to me and I told him to stay calm and try to work hard in training. There (was) a lot of pressure but I just had to shut it out and concentrate and see what happened in the end. I think he will come through it because he is such a good player.”

Growing into his own

The talented Mikel has since grown to become an important player at Chelsea, playing more than 100 games, and he is confident that Kakuta will enjoy a similar experience in the near future because of his exceptional qualities after his half-hour brilliant showing against the Wolves.

“He still has to learn a lot, but you could see from this game what a fantastic player he is. In terms of skill, I think he is the best in the club,” Mikel said. “The sort of things he does in training come naturally. He doesn’t force it and when he has got the ball, he knows what to do.”

Meanwhile, Mikel has urged his Chelsea teammates to go for the three points against Arsenal on Sunday in order to strengthen their lead at the summit of the Premier League table.

After helping the Blues to a 4-0 win over the Wolves following his eight-week absence from Premier League action, the Eagles midfielder has now turned his attention to the London derby billed for the Emirates next Sunday.

“Arsenal is going to be a massive game - and we have to make sure we win. We have to make sure we keep the distance at the top. If we do this towards the end of the season, this is going to count,” Mikel said.