AFCON 2025
Former Chelsea legendary midfielder John Mikel Obi has revealed a major reason why his former club may not win the Premier League this season.
The former midfielder lamented Chelsea’s failure to sign a top goalkeeper this summer and believes it could cost them the title.
Mikel Obi believes Chelsea should have signed former PSG goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, who joined Manchester City on deadline day.
Obi made his thoughts known on his podcast, The Obi One Podcast, while analysing Chelsea’s performance so far this season.
“I have said it so many times. We should have, in the transfer window, brought in a top goalkeeper,” Mikel said on The Obi One Podcast.
“We have seen what Donnarumma is doing now at Manchester City. He was the goalkeeper who was out there.
“I know there has been a lot of talk about the wage structure, but you can find a way around that.
“He’s a top goalkeeper, 26 years of age, you could have found a way around that he fits into the wage structure.
“It’s going to be incredibly hard for us to win the Premier League with the goalkeeper that we have right now.”
Mikel Obi went on to praise Pep Guardiola for reshaping the Manchester City squad with the signing of Donnarumma, among other top signings this summer.
“Every top club has got a goalkeeper, Pep Guardiola notified that. Ederson, absolutely fantastic for City, but wasn’t the same Ederson he used to be. He needed to get rid of him, and he did that,” Mikel continued.
“Guardiola has to think about the success of the club, the success of the team, how to get back to winning ways, and he made a change — a change that Ederson and some of the players won’t like.
“He’s got Donnarumma, and we can see now, he dominates the area and makes saves, he’s huge. A top goalkeeper wins you the league.”
