Chelsea's Team of 120: No room for Mikel, Newton as Kante, Lampard, Makelele secure midfield spots

Nigerian duo John Obi Mikel and Eddie Newton have been left out of Chelsea's Team of 120, as revealed by the official website of the Premier League giants. 

N'Golo Kante, Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele were the three former midfielders included in Chelsea's Team of 120.

In celebration of a 120-year anniversary, Chelsea asked supporters to vote for their favourite men's team goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and forwards from the Blues' roster of historical talent.

Mikel and Newton had been nominated for midfield roles and were in contention with twenty-eight other players to be named in the Team of 120.

Apart from the two players of Nigerian descent, John Tait Robertson, Nils Middelboe, Andy Wilson, Ken Armstrong, Terry Venables, John Hollins, John Boyle, Alan Hudson, Ray Wilkins, Mike Fillery, John Bumstead, Nigel Spackman, Denny Wise and Ruud Gullit also missed out.

Despite being nominated, Dan Petrescu, Roberto Di Matteo, Gustavo Poyet, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack, Nemanja Matic, Ramires, Juan Mata, Cesc Fabregas, Jorginho and Mason Mount failed to secure a place in Chelsea’s Team of 120.

An Africa Cup of Nations winner in 2013 and an Olympics bronze medalist three years later, Mikel, who also wore the colours of Lyn, Trabzonspor, Tianjin TEDA, Middlesbrough, Stoke City and Kuwait SC during his playing career, is best remembered for his time at Chelsea. 

He was arguably the standout performer as Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final. 

A product of the Chelsea academy, Eddie Newton featured in three cup-winning sides and scored in the 1997 FA Cup final.

After hanging up his boots, he took on multiple positions at Chelsea, serving as head of youth scouting, assistant manager and loan technical coach.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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