Ghana’s preparations for AFCON 2023 have taken fresh blows as two Premier League stars have been omitted from coach Chris Hughton’s 27-man squad named this week.
Teenage striker Abdul Fatawu Issahaku requested to skip national team duties to protect his loan deal at Leicester City, while injury has robbed midfield talisman Thomas Partey of an expected starring role for the Black Stars in Ivory Coast.
19-year old Issahaku currently sits on 21 appearances for high-flying Leicester this campaign as he vies to trigger a permanent transfer clause from parent club Sporting Lisbon. However, missing multiple matches during January’s AFCON threatens Issahaku breaching the minimum game threshold required for his Foxes switch.
After discussions between the player, his agents and the clubs involved, the difficult decision was made to withdraw Issahaku from Ghana selection to safeguard his immediate future in England.
Meanwhile Arsenal dynamo Partey has paid the price for persistent injury woes, the latest knock ruling him out of contention. Partey has frequently sparkled for Ghana in previous AFCONs when fit, making his absence another gut punch.
Attention now turns to reshaping Ghana’s engine room that will aim to drive the four-time champions towards a first AFCON triumph since 1982. The midfield unit still possesses considerable steel through Baba Iddrisu and Majeed Ashimeru, while exciting Europe-based talents like Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer and Mohammed Kudus carry the creative burden.
In attack, Ghana springs no surprise by calling up recent debutant Inaki Williams plus fellow Europe-based strikers Antoine Semenyo and Jordan Ayew, younger brother of captain Andre Ayew.
After bracing for the withdrawals of two key Prem stars, Ghana manager Chris Hughton must ensure his reimagined squad gels quickly to launch a resilient title push in Group C alongside Morocco, Gabon and Comoros.
Per his loan agreement at Leicester, there’s a clause that requires Fatawu Issahaku to meet a threshold of matches to secure a permanent stay with the English side.
The AFCON will mean he misses a good number of games, reason he’s opted out of the Ghana squad. pic.twitter.com/G5XklysUYt
— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) January 1, 2024
