John Obi Mikel is set to sign for Middlesbrough in a deal until the end of the season.

The Guardian is reporting the former Chelsea star has agreed terms with the Riverside outfit and is close to completing a move to the promotion chasers for the next six months.

Mikel has been a free agent since leaving Tianjin TEDA, a struggling Chinese Super League team having narrowly avoided relegation for the past two seasons.

The 31-year-old has passed a medical and is due to formally sign for Tony Pulis’ side in the coming days.

And Middlesbrough fans should be perplexed at the decision to not only sign this player but to have a move like this sanctioned and engage in any form of negotiations.

Counting all the players who could be deemed central midfielders, Boro have six on their books. Six.

And of those six, you could consider four or five to be defensively minded – so why on earth do they need another player for that role?

Regardless of status and age, it is a nonsensical move and one that Middlesbrough fans need to be concerned about.

Other areas of the team need reinforcements as a matter of urgency, for example, wide areas.

Pulis has so far failed to replace Adama Traore who left the club in the summer – the club tried but was unable to secure a player to fill the void, and Boro’s fanbase should question how hard the hierarchy tried.

Mikel coming in is odd, and a signing that screams desperation and the Middlesbrough supporters should feel aggrieved they have to see another player come in that isn’t one to bolster an area that needs help.

The swell of midfield options will only make the fans more restless in matches with backwards, sideways passing and no one to get the ball forward with pace and attack teams.

Mikel is not the man to do that – he is not the pacey winger the supporters crave, not is he an attacking midfielder who can take games by the scruff of the neck and create something out of nothing.

The Nigerian international is a player to sit and hold and control the middle of the pitch from deep – but any one of Grant Leadbitter, Adam Clayton, Jonny Howson, Paddy McNair, Mo Besic or summer signing George Saville can do that job.

Boro’s fans should feel this is ridiculous and shows the manager has little knowledge of what the club needs after coming so close to promotion last season.

The football has been dull and tepid for the majority of the campaign and adding Mikel only affirms the style of play Pulis is going to endeavour with.

This might be a big name from yesteryear, but for the supporters of the men from the Riverside, they need be feeling anything other than excited at what is a totally pointless signing.