Despite the continent being rocked by coronavirus, the European football season is about to get underway. Whilst most of the games will be played behind closed doors, that does mean access to televised and streamed events should be easier than ever before.
With that in mind, we’ve picked out five Ghanaian footballers to make a name in Europe this season (2020/21).
Number 5. Patrick Twumasi
Twumasi has been somewhat of a journeyman since leaving RB Ghana back in 2012 with his career taking him to five different countries already. The latest spell was a loan move at Turkish Super Lig club Gaziantep where he joined fellow Ghanaians Chibsah Raman and Tetteh Abdul-Aziz.
Even though it’s not a very mainstream league, Twumasi had quite the impact there too with an impressive goal involvement every 141 minutes, which was made up of six goals and five assists across 26 appearances. It means he was their second most influential attacking talent behind Nigerian striker Kayode Olarenwaju.
Meanwhile, back in Spain, his parent club – Alaves – narrowly escaped relegation with one of the league’s most toothless attacks. Transfer rumours over a move to Bundesliga 2 outfit Hannover 96 have been circulating. A move there wouldn’t be disastrous with the club expected to compete for promotion to the top tier but Alaves could surely do a lot worse.
Number 4. Kwadwo Asamoah
31-year-old Asamoah has endured a tough year with Inter. The team have impressed under the tutelage of Antonio Conte but winger come wing back Asamoah has only managed 11 appearances. He still has 12 months to run on his contract that was penned back in 2018 when he moved from Juventus but everything points to him moving on this window.
That’s exactly why he’s one of our five Ghanaians you must watch in 2020/21. Last season, Asamoah made 42 appearances with most of them starts. He boasted a passing accuracy of 89% in Serie A with 32 of them defined as key passes i.e. those that create a scoring opportunity.
On top of that, he completed 62% of his attempted dribbles. I guess what I’m getting at is that he’s far from past it with his style simply not what Conte is after. Thankfully, it looks like there will be takers for his signature.
A move to Marseille has been muted along with interest from Serie B Champions Benevento. Let’s look forward to Asamoah impressing us some more in the twilight of his career.
Number 3. Mohammed Kudus
20-year-old Kudus has earned himself a move to a more prominent European club this season having transferred from Danish outfit Nordsjaelland to Dutch giants Ajax for a fee of £8m. It’s early days but he’s impressed in pre-season fixtures. Given the club have lost Hakim Ziyech already with David Neres tipped to follow there will be room for creative influence.
Kudus managed a goal involvement every 167 minutes last season with 11 goals and a solitary assist from 22 starts and three sub appearances so it’s extremely plausible that coach Erik ten Hag picks him in his first-team squad from the off.
The attacking midfielder was rumoured to have been interesting Everton but a step to the Eredivise feels like a better move for his long term development and, if he excels at the Johan Cruyff Arena then a move to one of Europe’s top five leagues will come in time.
Number 2. Mohammed Salisu
Salisu serves as an example to everyone. His first taste of football was with Kusami Barcelona Babies side before moving on to join the African Talent Academy. It was there where he was spotted and jumped to Europe with Real Valladolid.
On his arrival in Spain, he was only 18-years-old and had to make do with youth and reserve football for a while before making his first senior appearances in last year’s Copa Del Rey – Spain’s domestic cup competition.
180 minutes across the two-legged tie with Getafe proved his only game time but 2019/20 was very different. Salisu started the season at centre back and remained a near-constant in the team that finished 13th.
He impressed at the heart of defence winning 61% of headers and 76% of tackles. It earned him attention from bigger clubs. Manchester United was linked but it was another Premier League team that landed his signature. He’ll be pulling on the red and white stripes of Southampton in the new season. He’ll be a huge success too.
Number 1. Thomas Partey
First things first, who knows where Partey will be playing his football in a few weeks time? Not me. I also happen to know, he’ll be oozing quality wherever he ends up. The machine-like midfielder is currently under contract with Atletico Madrid but Arsenal are known to rank Partey as their number one transfer target.
Presently, a fee hasn’t been agreed and the managerial changes at Juventus have seen Andrea Pirlo linked with the 26 cap powerhouse – it’s not yet clear how serious that interest is.
One person who hopes he stays with Atletico is CK Akonnor. The reason? Champions League football and an almost guaranteed starting position. Partey made 46 appearances for Diego Simeone’s men last year netting four goals and grabbing a solitary assist. It’s not his final third contribution that makes him a top player though with his engine, tenacity and general reading of the game his real qualities.
You can see why the Gunners want him and why they are favourites to sign him on all the best apps for betting. He ticks every box of what they’ve been missing in their midfield since the likes of Patrick Viera and Gilberto Silva. He’s good enough to transform that team. Please let us see it happen.
Source: TheBBBCghana.Com
