The former Super Eagles captain played 119 games under the Portuguese tactician, but most times, his impressive performances went under the radar
Former England international, Darren Bent, has praised John Mikel Obi’s influence during Mourinho’s time at Chelsea.
Mikel played under Mourinho in the Portuguese two separate spells at Chelsea. The Stoke City made 22 league appearances in his first season under the former Porto manager.
Although Mourinho was sacked just a month into the next campaign, Mikel featured heavily during Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea, making 24 league appearances in the 2013/2014 campaign and 18 the following season.
During this time, Mikel played a key role under Mourinho as he was Chelsea’s defensive midfielder, although his brilliant performances went unnoticed.
However, speaking on his talkSport show, Bent praised Mikel’s displays in Mourinho’s Chelsea team, comparing his role to that of Pierre-Emile Kordt Højbjerg in Mourinho’s Tottenham squad.
Talking about how Mourinho likes to have players that sit in front of the defence, Bent said: “I think the biggest one that was underrated was John Obi Mikel.
He done the job so well, sitting in the front of the back four, Bent added.
👀 “He was MOTM on TV, I owe Højbjerg a bit of an apology…”
✍️ “We were all a bit skeptical [of Spurs signing him].”
💪 “He’s the anchor that you need in your midfield!”@Alex_Crook & @DarrenBent admit they were wrong about #THFC signing Højbjerg 🇩🇰 pic.twitter.com/tjQ3CsoqS1
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) December 6, 2020
Mikel won a Premier League title, an FA Cup and a League Cup under Mourinho.
