Former Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu believes new additions to the Black Stars following the team’s World Cup qualification should first be tested in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Ghana are one of five African nations to have booked a ticket for the November 21 to December 18 global championship in Qatar which kicks off five months into the qualifiers for the 2023 Afcon finals.
Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu has been highly reported to be set for an imminent union with the Black Stars while a host of dual-national players abroad, including the England-based trio of Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi, Arsenal’s Edward Nketiah and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Tariq Lamptey, have also been linked to the four-time African champions.
“We should not rush and call players just because of the World Cup and lose them after,” the former Udinese star stated on Max FM.
“Those who wouldn’t have any problem switching nationality must be ready for the 2023 Afcon qualifiers so they get familiar with the terrain.
“It shouldn’t be that the player plays the World Cup and that’s it.”
The Spain-born Athletic Bilbao duo of Inaki Williams and Nicholas Williams are also reportedly being pursued by Ghana for a switch of international allegiance ahead of the World Cup.
Former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan, meanwhile, has cautioned the Ghana Football Association on potential new introductions into the Black Stars for the Qatar adventure.
“It happened to my brother [Baffour Gyan]. In 2006 [when Ghana qualified for the World Cup for the first time], he played 90 per cent of the qualifiers and then they brought strikers who had never tasted one game [for the tournament in Germany]. He was on the standby [list],” said Gyan.
“That was when my brother gave up on football. He doesn’t follow football, he doesn’t watch it, he doesn’t like it, he’s purely a businessman. Sometimes people have to be treated fairly.
“No player would like to be [left out], especially having played all the games. When these players come, they don’t even play one game. They just sit on the bench, get their bonuses and go, they don’t compete.
“If they bring these players, they have to show us something, they have to prove to people that they deserve to get into the team, that’s all I want. We all want the national team to be better.”
Ghana have been pitted against Madagascar, Angola, and the Central African Republic for the Afcon qualifiers which begin in June.
At the World Cup, the Black Stars have been drawn against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea.
