Mikel Ready to prove himself to Conte

After excelling as captain of the Nigeria men Olympic football team in Rio, Jon Obi Mikel has declared that his next mission is to prove himself to Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte.

Conspicuously, missing as the Blues churned out two wins in as many games, the task for Mikel now is to prove he is a more worthy addition compared to Conte’s winning team at the moment.

“I want to get back into training and prove myself. I want to play and help the team to win games,” Mikel said in his Evening Standard column.

He continued: “I know it will be difficult because I have missed most of pre-season and the coach has a new way of playing. But it is a positive thing for me that I have been playing well in Brazil and I’m in good shape.

“I will need a few days off first because this tournament has been so draining. I arrive back in London on Wednesday morning and the game against Burnley on Saturday will come too early to feature in.

“The plan is to have a little break, which is why the timing couldn’t be better as the season stops for two weeks for international fixtures after the Burnley game anyway.

“It will give me plenty of time to enjoy my bronze medal and reflecton what has been a magical few weeks in my football career.”

After wins against West Ham and Watford, Chelsea have their next game against Bristol Rovers in theLeague Cup.