Getafe midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo has admitted that the exit of Mikel Obi and Odion Ighalo from the Super Eagles has left the team short of leaders in the dressing room.
Both players retired from the Eagles after featuring at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
In an Instagram Live chat with The PUNCH, the 24-year-old midfielder said, “They are leaders who we are going to miss in the dressing room.
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“Mikel was a leader; I recall how he helped us during the Olympics, when we had issues during our preparations for the Games. Not because I played with him but for the impact he had on me as a player,” Etebo said.
“They (Mikel and Ighalo) helped the team make vital decisions during tough times and I guess it was just time for them to move on.
“Ighalo on his part is a goal poacher that we also miss but thank God that we have another goal poacher in (Victor) Osimhen, but we have to be patient with him to settle in well into that role.”
Etebo added that he joined Getafe in January for a fresh challenge.
“I left because I was playing at that time. I wanted to leave after my first season but I was asked to stay one more year. So, when the situation was not improving I had to seek a different option and Getafe who wanted me last summer came back for me and I opted to move.”