Mikel disclosed that he was just 16 years old when he spent roughly a month training at Old Trafford, where he regularly worked with members of the club’s first team. His performances during the trial period reportedly impressed then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was keen on keeping the Nigerian youngster at the club.
However, the move was ultimately blocked by Premier League eligibility regulations governing non-European players at the time. Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, Mikel explained that the rules required such players to have participated in at least 75 per cent of their country’s senior national team matches to qualify for a transfer.
At that stage of his career, Mikel had not yet made his debut for Nigeria’s senior national team, meaning he failed to meet the criteria. His age further complicated matters, as he was also ineligible to feature competitively for United’s first team.
“The idea was to bring me in quietly and move things along before I turned 18,” Mikel said, noting that the regulations ultimately made that plan impossible. He added that the requirement to have played the majority of senior international matches proved to be a decisive barrier.
Despite the failed move, Mikel recalled that Ferguson showed strong belief in his potential during training sessions. According to him, the United manager often paired him with then-captain Roy Keane to help him adapt to the physical intensity of training.
“Fergie loved me,” Mikel said. “He would always put me with Roy Keane because he felt Keane would protect me from the likes of Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, who were always flying into tackles.”
Mikel would later go on to enjoy a successful career, most notably with Chelsea, where he won multiple domestic and European titles, as well as captaining Nigeria to continental success.