Middlesbrough will need more than Premier League promotion to keep John Obi Mikel at the club, manager Tony Pulis has revealed.
With Boro well-placed in a position [fifth] for the Championship playoffs, Pulis believes convincing Mikel about the club’s potentials will be crucial in keeping him at the Riverside Stadium.
“I don’t think the key to keeping John is going up. I think the key is to show him the potential the club has,” Pulis said, per Teesside Live. I think the secret to keeping John at the end of the season is to convince him this is a club going in the right direction.”
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The former Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion manager has disclosed how pleased he is with the midfielder’s character and how upbeat he was about the Nigerian’s success in his team prior to the move.
“I’m not surprised about the impact he has had. I spoke to a lot of people before I spoke to John,” he added.
“When you have been out of the country for two years and haven’t played competitive football – no disrespect to the Chinese League – then there is always some doubts but everyone I spoke to said he was a wonderful person, very grounded, very down to earth.
“That’s the big issue with players: it is character, character, and character. And John has that in his locker.
“People here will be able to say better than me whether there have been players over the years who have turned up just to take the coin.
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“John is not going to do that. He isn’t about the money. He just seems to be enjoying it. I was 100 per cent it was the right move.
“It was difficult to convince everyone it was right because we have so many midfield players and I am not sure what the supporters thought of us bringing another one in, but he was never going to be a gamble for me. He was always going to help us.”