Tianjin Teda of China midfielder, John Mikel Obi has parried speculation that he feels threatened by the presence of new, vibrant players in the Super Eagles, hence his stylish abstinence from recent matches.
Making his position known in a chat with sports247.ng, Mikel said he is closer to the current crop of players of the Eagles than those of the past.
The Eagles’ captain said he takes all the young players and their other colleagues as brothers, knowing they are all in the team for the purpose of taking Nigeria high on the international scale.
Mikel, though, stressed that he does not have preferred ones among any of the players, both old and young, as he wants to carry everybody along on the same level, towards achieving a common goal.
‘The Catalyst’ declared: “My door is always open to all of them. Especially the young one, I try to help them get confidence for the good of the team.
“I am proud of the current squad on their achievements so far and I am sure that together we will make Nigerians proud in our 2019 challenges.”
