A record ten Ghanaian youngsters secure move to top European clubs in January 2023 transfer window
Ten young Ghanaian football talents have begun professional careers in Europe after successful transfers in the January 2023 window from their lower division clubs to leading clubs in Italy, Romania, Hungary, Portugal and Belgium.
Ghanaian Football Management Consult, Arthur Legacy Consult, led by renowned agent Oliver Arthur, brokered the historic breakthrough deals, which stand as one of the biggest in Ghana football’s player transfer history.
Even more significant is the fact that all the ten players, plying their trades in Ghana’s lower tier, without a topflight experience, have each earned their first professional contracts, following successful scouting, negotiations, medicals, and contract signings between the players and the clubs.
ArthurLegacy Sports has secured contracts for three players of Ghanaian Division two side, MŠK Žilina Africa FC with Kingsford Boakye Yiadom joining Italian giants, AC Milan while his teammates Gaddo Abubakar and Joseph Aidoo signed for Romania's leading club, FC Cluj and KVC Westerlo of Belgium, respectively.
Five players of Accra-based Division Two side, EurAfrica FC, also secured contracts with clubs in Italy, Portugal and Hungary. Shadirac Chyereme has penned his signature for Budapest-based side Ferencváros, while Samuel Obeng, Stephen Annan and Kwadwo Opoku Ackah all signed for Italian sides Empoli FC, US Salernitana 1919 and US Sassuolo.
Another EurAfrica youngster, Samson Mohammed was signed by Sporting Braga of Portugal.
Meanwhile, Razak Abdullah of Division One side Kpando Heart of Lions and Emmanuel Mensah of second-tier side, Young Apostles both secured moves to Romanian club, FC Cluj.
For Mr Arthur, he was excited that his agency was providing opportunities for some of Ghana’s finest young talents to begin professional careers at European clubs where they can continue their development. He was hopeful that they would seize the chance, work hard and follow in the footsteps of stars such as Afriyie Acquah, Richmond Boakye Yiadom, Edmund Addo and Felix Afena Gyan who were given similar career pathways by ArthurLegacy and blossomed into big-name stars in Europe.
At a ceremony organized in Accra, the highly excited and soon-to-be professional players were taken through an orientation process intended to adequately equip them for their first European experience.
As part of the contract signing process, the players had to pass mandatory medical tests conducted in Accra by Ghanaian sports medicine expert, Dr Pince Pambo, tests that met the rigorous standards set by European clubs prior to signing with Arthur Legacy Sports.
According to the Founder and CEO of ArthurLegacy Sports, Mr Arthur, based on their track record of working relationship with leading European sides over the years, his outfit managed to convince the clubs to allow the medicals to be conducted by Dr Pambo who is a member CAF Medical Committee with extensive work in doping control for football’s world governing body FIFA and at CAF tournaments.
Mr Arthur explains that having successful medicals – which are crucial to the international transfer of players – conducted in Accra by a renowned Ghanaian doctor saved the young players the trouble of having to travel to Europe for that important exercise whose outcome paved the way for a contract to be signed.
“Usually this doesn't happen, but ArthurLegacy had to convince the European clubs about Dr Pambo's credentials and experience working with FIFA, so we were allowed to conduct the medicals here,” Mr Arthur explained.
Source: Saddick Adams
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