He was the train at the training grounds - Mikel Obi praises ex-Chelsea teammate Michael Essien

John Mikel Obi has lauded his former Chelsea teammate, Michael Essien, describing the Ghanaian as a gentleman but was the train at the training grounds who did not get enough recognition.

Essien and Mikel, who were signed by Jose Mourinho played together at Chelsea for many years and enjoyed success at the club.

Speaking about his former midfield partner, Mikel said Essien was a monster in training and described him as a powerful machine.

“He [Essien] never gets the credit that he deserves. We call him the train in training. He is a powerful machine, the way he trains. Every day he’s there working and working,” the ex-Nigeria captain told Dubai Eye.

“Apart from football, what a gentleman he is. He is the train, he is the bison and that’s what we call him.”

Essien joined the Blues from French side, Lyon, where he won two Ligue 1 titles.

He became Chelsea’s record signing when the club forked out £24.4 million to price him away from Lyon in 2005.

He spent almost a decade at Stamford Bridge, helping the Blues to win two Premier League and FA Cup titles, four FA Cups and the UEFA Champions League in 2012.

The 40-year-old also had stints with Real Madrid and AC Milan before calling time on his career after a brief spell with Azerbaijani side Sabail FK.

Essien has since taken to management and is currently serving as a first-team assistant coach at Danish side FC Nordsjaelland.

He also recently acquired both the UEFA A and UEFA Elite Youth A licenses.