Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City has revealed Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel was his childhood role model.
Ndidi said that the influence of the 32-year-old Mikel in the Super Eagles midfield could have a huge bearing on team’s fate.
He also named Senegal and Egypt as the favourites to clinch this year’s African Cup of Nations trophy.
“It is great to play with him,” Ndidi told Goal.
“I grew up watching Mikel. He is my role model and playing alongside him is a great thing
“He is very calm, a good captain, and he gives advice to everyone and speaks with everyone. When you talk to him, he is very humble.
“It is a plus to the team having such a player. We grew up watching him, and now we’re playing with him he gives us more confidence
“With our current players, coach and staff, I think we can do something great. The important thing is to try to win games as much as we can.
“We cannot talk about winning the cup now – we will deal with it game by game and see what will happen. There are many good teams here.
“For me, Senegal and Egypt are the favourites. Senegal is a very good, tough team and they have great players, while Egypt are at home.”
