Why Mikel to Madrid is not such a crazy idea

Like me, I guessed the first thing you did when you heard about the speculations that Spanish giants Real Madrid are interested in making a summer move for Nigerian international and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel was to snort in disbelief and derision.

‘Madrid ko, Milan ni’, I can imagine you turning your nose up at the ‘stupid’ news. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. I also felt the same way. Of all the players Madrid have the financial clout to attract, why Mikel?
But, on second thought, you want to ask why not Mikel? The only logical way to answer that question is to examine what Madrid needs and to determine if Mikel has all or any of those qualities in such degrees to make him attractive to Los Blancos.

Firstly, it is obvious that Madrid are in dire need of a backbone in the middle of the pack. At the back, they boast of a fairly decent back four in Marcelo (left back), Sergio Ramos and Pepe (central defence) and Dani Carvajal or Raphael Varane (right back).
Also going forward, they boast one of the most fearsome attacking line-up in modern football with the irrepressible Cristiano Ronaldo with the support cast of Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Javier Hernandez (if he stays beyond this season).

It is in the midfield that Madrid are most vulnerable. Luca Modric is an exceptional player. So is Isco and Asier Illarasmendi even though he’s yet to justify the huge amount of money spent on his transfer.

However, none of these players possess the skills-set required to play as a grafter who does all the necessary muck work in the middle of the park while also acting as a screen for the back four.

The only player blessed with that quality is Sami Khedira but a combination of injury and indifferent form has prevented the German from being at his optimal best.
This failure has led to occasions where Carlo Ancelotti has had to call on either Sergio Ramos or Pepe to step into the midfield as a temporary stop-gap.

With Khedira almost certain to leave at the end of this season, what better time than now to bring a player of equivalent quality to come and help out? And, if you ask me, Mikel is eminently qualified to play that role.

Secondly, and closely related to the above point, some pundits have claimed that Real Madrid have never recovered from the ill-advised release of Claude Makelele in 2003.

His contribution was so understated and he was underpaid (at the expense of the club’s Galacticos) that when he asked for an improved contract, then Madrid president Florentino Perez (in)famously said: “We will not miss Makélelé. His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents, and ninety percent of his distribution either goes backwards or sideways. He wasn’t a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres. Younger players will arrive who will cause Makélelé to be forgotten.”
Well, as it transpired, Makelele moved to Chelsea and, while the Blues prospered under Jose Mourinho with Makelele a key figure in the team, Real Madrid were on a downward spiral from which they are just trying to recover now.
Makelele was so good in the holding midfielder or anchor-man role that he had the position named after him. And, interestingly, Mikel was his understudy who seamlessly stepped into the big shoes when Mekelele finally left Chelsea in 2008.

So, don’t you think Mikel, who’s a disciple of Makelele will be the perfect person to help Madrid fully complete the cycle of healing from the Makelele trauma.

Yea, it’s twisted logic but, as they say on the street, Karma is a b*tch.

Thirdly, Mikel comes highly recommended for the job having played at the highest level both as an established international and a winner of a chestful of medals for club and country in the last 10 years.

At 28 years of age, that CV is rich enough to get any job and it should help his case in the final analysis. Besides, he was an integral part of Carlo Ancelotti’s double-winning side of 2010 so they both know each other well.

Fourthly, Mourinho has not given Mikel enough playing time this season (plus the fact that he was out injured) but that is understandable when you look at who’s keeping him out of the team. Nemanja Matic is easily the best player in that position in the Premier League and no coach will discountenance that in making a decision about who gets to play.

When and or if Matic is not available, Mourinho will still prefer to go with Ramires rather than Mikel so it is just fair that he makes the move when such an opportunity comes knocking.

Finally, and perhaps very importantly, money will not be a clog in the wheel of making a deal. I don’t expect Chelsea to make an outrageous demand for a player who’s been a faithful servant for almost a decade.

Even if Madrid are known not to be unstinting when it comes to splashing the cash, this is one transfer that can be done under the radar with all parties smiling home satisfied. And he can go about the next phase of his career unobtrusively.

His agent has refused to deny or confirm if there’s an offer on the table. When asked, John Ola Shittu just said: “I can’t talk about anything regarding reports linking John with Real Madrid because he’s still a Chelsea player.”

In typical agent-speak, this could mean yes, something is cooking. Of course, I concede, it could also mean no, there’s nothing to the story but what I’ve learnt on this job is that when the issue at stake has to do with players’ transfer, anything can happen. Fingers crossed, we have until the last day of August to confirm if a deal can be done or not.

But, for me, Mikel moving to Madrid is not crazy. Infact, it’s a smart move. Stranger things have happened before.