DE BRUYNE’S DESTRUCTION OF MIKEL PROVES CHELSEA KEPT WRONG TALENT AT CLUB

The Nigerian had a torrid time as he failed to shackle one of Europe's form players during the Blues’ thumping at home to City.
Kevin De Bruyne’s dominance of John Obi Mikel stood out during Manchester City’s 3-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. 

It was a reminder that Mikel will never again be good enough for a first-team place if Chelsea have any ambitions of returning to the top level of English football. It has been a depressing season for Chelsea and parts of the squad need an overhaul. Maybe they can start by bringing Roma‘s Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan to replace Mikel. 

This might be a tough thing to hear as the Nigerian is Chelsea's second-longest serving player after John Terry and will be worthy of a testimonial at Stamford Bridge in the summer after 10 years. He also remains a cult hero among some fans and is particularly popular in Nigeria, where Chelsea have strong support.

If Terry leaves the club then Mikel will be the last link to the Jose Mourinho era. Perhaps Antonio Conte will think about moving the defensive midfielder to another club. The Italian is expected to bring in players like the aforementioned Nainggolan and Mikel’s position will likely come under threat.

Seeing him go up against another Belgian, ex-Chelsea attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, is visual proof of the club’s recent failures in the transfer market. De Bruyne was floating on air while Mikel’s shoulders struggled to carry the weight of Chelsea's expectation. 

Mikel was involved in all three City goals. For the first, he lost possession to Sergio Aguero who found De Bruyne as Mikel chased in vein. For the second, he struggled to keep pace as the Belgian took out two players with a delightful touch before finding Aguero.  For the third goal Mikel couldn't even track Fernandinho as he broke through the midfield at pace to win a penalty, getting Thibaut Courtois sent off in the process. 

Substitute keeper Asmir Begovic was powerless to stop an Aguero hat-trick. It was fitting that Mikel made way for the Bosnian. It was a dismal afternoon for the 28-year-old, who has never really been good enough to compete at the absolute highest level of football.
A popular man, he has been dubbed the "African Zidane" by fans after being a regular in Guus Hiddink's resurgent Chelsea side, but now they are starting to stutter as they pursue a slim hope of Europa League football. They have only won once in the last seven games and that was against Aston Villa.

Against better opposition like City, he is not good enough and the player himself has said "I have to play because one thing I don’t want to do is to sit on the bench like I did before”. He lacks the pace, passing ability or composure to be the top-class player Chelsea need. 

Nemanja Matic was only fit enough to make the bench and he was a player who lifted Cesc Fabregas to greatness when Chelsea won the Premier League last season. For Fabregas to shine at the top level, he needs a partner worthy of his own quality.

The Blues were once a powerhouse in the transfer market, beating the likes of Manchester United to Eden Hazard, Michael Essien and Arjen Robben. They will need to channel this spirit again in the transfer window to revitalise a weak spine of their team.