Top English manager tells club to hand Nigerian legend new deal after achieving this great feat at the club

- John Obi Mikel will run out of contract with Stoke City at the end of this season

- The midfielder has made a lot of impacts since he joined The Potters last summer

- Michael O'Neill has now urged the club to compensate him with an extension

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Nigerian football legend John Obi Mikel seems to have positioned himself for a new deal at Stoke City after making a huge impact at the club in his first year with them.

The midfielder who turns 34 in April will run out of contract with the Championship club at the end of this season having signed just one year last August 2020.

However, Michael O'Neill is hoping The Potters can keep the former Chelsea player along with James Chester for another season owing to their contributions to the club.

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The two stars have been credited for influencing the changing room positively on a strict budget for O’Neill, who walked into a club where about 20 senior players had no future, and have been influential first-team regulars as reported by Stoke Sentinel.

“Both signed contracts with options so we anticipate that both players will be here next year. They are players who came here and their motive was to play, it wasn’t financial. That is heartening in this day and age.

"They weren’t older players who saw this as an opportunity for the last payday, they saw it as an opportunity to really come to a club and make a difference. That’s been pleasing because they’ve both made a big impact, as has Steven Fletcher, in terms of what types of players we have around the club."

Mikel has created just one assist in 30 appearances across competitions so far this campaign this season and only Harry Souttar and Nick Powell have played more minutes than the Nigerian.

The former Tianjin TEDA midfielder missed a couple of games towards Christmas owing to a groin injury.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Super Eagles legend John Mikel Obi has taken to social media to flaunt his beautiful wife and adorable twin-daughters as they celebrate International Women’s Day, 2021.

International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year around the world. It is a focal point in the movement for women's rights.

Mikel described his family members as ‘funny crackers’ adding that he is so lucky to have them in his life.

Oluwatomiwa is a sports editor with Legit.ng. He has over eight years of field and office experience in the media industry. He graduated from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in 2014 with HND in Mass Communication. Connect with him on Twitter @TomiwaBabalola.