Profile of the six new Ghana Black Stars players
Earlier this week, the Ghana Football Association through its President Kurt Okraku, announced that six new players have officially switched nationality to play for the Black Stars of Ghana in a Facebook post.
In the wake of things, Inaki Willians shared a video via his twitter handle announcing that he was now a Black Star and was eligible to be called up for the AFCON qualifers in September and the World Cup in November.
The Black Stars of Ghana will be in Qatar in November 2022 for the World Cup, but the ultimate plan for Kurt Okraku and the Ghana Football Association is to get the best quality players available to don the national shirt. .
There had been extensive conservations but finally, the Ghana Football Association boss, Kurt Okraku has confirmed he has been able to convince six players to represent the Black Stars and that’s some good news for coach Otto Addo and the technical team.
Here, we profile the six new players who have decided to wear the famous red, yellow, green and black colours.
- Iñaki Williams – Athletic Bilbao
The 28-year-old has been on the radar of the Ghana Football Association for the last four years but has now made the decision to play for the Black Stars saying he will “defend the Ghana shirt” as he confirmed in a video published on social media.
With 38 games, 32 starts, and fourteen goals contribution in the 2021/2022 season, the inclusion of Iñaki Williams gives Ghana a more direct approach in attack.
He may not be a prolific forward but his pace, positioning and his ability to take on defenders will come in very handy for the Black Stars moving forward as the Stars have that magic spark upfront since the exit of the mercurial Asamoah Gyan.
- Tariq Lamptey – Brighton and Hove Albion
Brighton and Hove Albion fullback, Tariq Lamptey has also agreed to represent Ghana instead of England and was in Ghana in June 2022 for vacation.
The 21 year old’s biggest addition will be how quick he is and will be a great addition for coach Otto Addo who is known for using the 3 back system.
This formation makes very good use of fullbacks and also kills the argument of who starts on the right-hand side of the Ghanaian defence which has seen some very poor performances in previous games.
- Mohammed Salisu- Southampton
After a series of dragging, the 22 year has finally decided to play for Ghana with the president of the Football Association Kurt Okraku playing a very pivotal role.
Salisu first rejected a call-up to the national team in December 2019, citing injury problems and has subsequently taken himself off the radar of the national team.
Amid rumours that Salisu was considering playing for Spain instead of Ghana, his family released a statement on April 26, 2021, unequivocally reiterating the defender’s commitment to Ghana.
His statistics from last season at Southampton are impressive and looking at his qualities, and age it is very exciting thinking about what he can achieve in football.
More also, coach Otto Addo came under a huge backlash when he started Gideon Mensah on the right of the three back system in the game against the Central African Republic.
The coach then rebutted that he wanted a left center back to take up that role and so Salisu’s switch means he will be walking straight into the first team going into subsequent games.
- Stephan Ambrosius – Hamburger SV
The Hamburg-born Ghanaian had a very difficult 2021/2022 season where he missed out completely due to a cruciate ligament rupture.
However, before his recent injury woes, he made 26 appearances for Hamburger SV, playing as a regular centre-back for his club.
It was during this time of his life that he got called up to the German U-21 side but played no part in the U-21 UEFA European Championships.
At 23, Stephan Ambrosius gives Ghana is a good prospect for the future. He may not be picked for the 2022 World Cup, but a slow integration into the team will see him replace the ageing Daniel Amartey or Alexander Djiku.
- Patric Pfeiffer – Darmstadt 98
After missing the first two games of the 2021/2022 season due to the Coronavirus, Patric Pfeiffer played every single game for Darmstadt 98 in Bundesliga 2.
He also scored the winner when Darmstadt 98 faced SC Paderborn in November.
Patric Pfeiffer has one striking figure: his height. He stands at 1.96m or 6 feet 5 inches and that is one of the qualities of some of the world greatest defenders like Virgil Van Dijk, Gerrard Pique to name a few.
- Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer – Hamburger SV
Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer is a 20-year-old centre-forward who is definitely a prodigy for the Black Stars of Ghana.
He falls in the same generation as teenage sensations Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Felix Afena-Gyan, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Mohammed Kudus who have been marked to take the reins of the Black Stars in a few years time.
Königsdörffer missed just four games across all competitions last season playing 30 games and having a ten goal invovlement in the Bundesliga 2 for Dynamo Dresden.
All these players will be available for selection into the next Black Stars call up for the AFCON 2024 qualifers double header against Angola in September and the World in November 2022 but the decision lies in the hands of coach Otto Addo, Didi Dramani, George Boateng, technical advisor Chris Hughton and the rest of the technical team.
