Scouts from the Ghanaian giants Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko reportedly suggested they sign Burkina Faso forward Michel Batiebo.
The 28-year-old is second on the top scorers list in the Burkina Faso Premier League after scoring 9 goals in 7 games.
Batiebo has been mentioned frequently as a potential target for both clubs, who are actively looking for attacking reinforcements.
The player’s age and potential for resale, however, worry Asante Kotoko. According to insiders, Batiebo’s advanced age would have a negative effect on his potential resale value.
Hearts of Oak, on the other hand, is less concerned about age and resale value. Despite his age and potential sales, coach Slavko Matic is willing to sign Batiebo.
The team’s attack has a hole after forward Daniel Afriyie Barnieh left for FC Zurich, which Batiebo could fill.
According to Ghana Sports Online, Hearts of Oak will submit a proposal to AS Douanes after receiving the go-ahead from Executive Board Chairman Togbe Afede XIV.
Additionally, it’s been reported that Ali Guissou, the club president, played a significant role in the acquisition of Batiebo, who initially signed a one-year contract with AS Douanes in August 2021 and renewed it before the start of the current season.
As Madagascar defeated Sudan 3-0 on Monday night, Ghana qualified for the knockout stage of the 2022 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) in Algeria with a second-place finish.
And as per tournament guidelines, the team that finishes second in Group C is to leave its base in Constantine for Oran to face the winner of Group E in the quarterfinals.
Madagascar’s victories over Ghana (2-1) and the Sudanese mean they top Group C with a 100% record.
Thanks to last Thursday’s scrappy 3-1 triumph over Sudan, coach Annor Walker’s men will now play one of Niger (1 point) and Cameroon (3 points) who face each other in a top-of-the-table decider for Group E on Tuesday night.
Whoever tops Group E from the above will host the Galaxies in a final quarterfinal fixture on Saturday, January 28.
The match is scheduled for Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran with kickoff at 19:00 GMT.
The winner of this last-8 game involving Ghana advances to face the one between hosts Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire in the first semifinals on Tuesday, January 31, also in Oran.
The grand finale will take place at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers on February 4, 2023.
Ghana forward Godsway Donyoh has secured a two-and-a-half-year agreement to sign for Apollon FC of Cyprus.
The deal for the 28-year-old former Manchester City prospect to join the Limassol-based club from Azerbaijani side Neftsi Baku is subject a successful medical.
“The Apollon Football (Public) Ltd Company announces the agreement in principle with Neftsi Baku for the acquisition of the footballer Godsuei Donio until May 2025.
“The footballer is expected in Cyprus in the next few days to undergo medical tests and to ratify the agreement,” the club published on its website Monday.
In July 2011, Manchester City signed then-17-year-old Donyoh to their U-18s from Ghana’s Right to Dream Academy. 18 months later, he moved out on loan to Djurgården in Sweden and then to Falkenberg.
In January 2016, he secured a transfer to Nordsjælland where he played for four years before being sent on a 6-month loan to Dynamo Dresden.
His career path took him to Israel with Maccabi Haifa in the summer of 2020 where he won two league titles and a Super Cup.
Last summer, Donyoh signed for Neftsi Baku where he scored five of his combined 56 goals in 237 games throughout his journey in Europe so far.
Apollon FC are currently 6th in the 14-team 2022/23 Cypriot First Division League standings.
Gladson Awako returned to training with the Black Galaxies when the team returned to the training grounds on Monday, January 23.
The captain of the side suffered an injury in the opening game against Madagascar and was unavailable for the match Sudan last Thursday.
He is back in training with the squad as they prepare for the quarterfinals stage of the competition this weekend.
Razak Yusif who also suffered an injury in the opening group game is also set to make a return to training in the coming days.
The Black Galaxies could play second placed from Group A, Mozambique or the first placed team in Group E in the quarterfinals game on Saturday, January 28.
Holders Accra Hearts of Oak have been knocked out of the MTN FA Cup after a 1-0 loss to Dreams FC at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Dreams FC took the lead as early as the 10th minute of the encounter as Agyenim Boateng Mensah took advantage of a Richmond Ayi howler to slot home.
The Phobians damped out the Still Believe lads in the semifinal of last season’s competition following a 3-2 win at the Accra Sports stadium. But their output on Sunday was not up to task as Dreams FC held on to their early lead to cruise through to the next stage of the Cup competition.
Hearts of Oak were awarded a penalty late in injury time but failed to make good use of it as Benjamin Yorke and Samuel Inkoom missed from the spot.
The Phobians had to take the penalty kick twice after replays showed that the Dreams FC goalkeeper had come off his lines to save Benjamin Yorke’s initial kick.
Former Ghana International Samuel Inkoom took over the mantle but also had his kick saved by Dreams FC goalkeeper Augustine Koomson.
The Dawu based side kept their composure and discipline to win 1-0 to progress to the Round of 16 of the MTN FA Cup.
Meanwhile 9-time Champions Asante Kotoko left it late to beat third tier side Benab FC 2-1 at the Baba Yara Sports stadium on Saturday. Kotoko snatched the lead from their first incursion after Enoch Morrison had his free kick headed into the back of the net by Justice Blay inside 17 minutes.
Benab FC got the equalizer in the 69th minute through Mohammed Umar who finished off a delicious pass from the left side.
Maxwell Agyemang finally scored in the closing stages to win the game for the Porcupine Warriors.
Bibiani Gold Stars suffered a humiliating defeat in front of their fans as they crashed to a 4-1 defeat to King Faisal at DUN’s Park.
Samuel Adom Antwi grabbed a hat-trick in an uncharacteristic fashion to send the Green and Whites into the next round of the competition. Adom Antwi broke the deadlock in the 35th minute before Emmanuel Appau levelled matters for the home side.
The intelligent forward netted again minutes after the break to restore King Faisal’s one goal lead. With about 20 minutes to end proceedings, Samuel Adom Antwi got his hattrick to make it 3-1 in favour of King Faisal before Baba Yahaya put the nail in the coffin for the Insah Allah lads to cruise to a 4-1 victory.
In Accra – Legon Cities beat Great Olympics 4-3 on penalties to progress to the next round after the match failed to produce goals in regulation time.
Below are results of the matches in the Round of 32:
A former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Lepowura MND Jawula has died.
The football administration veteran had reportedly been ill for some time now.
Sources say he was earlier admitted to the University of Ghana Medical Centre before being flown out to the United States of America last week for further treatment where he passed on.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) says it is saddened by the development and commiserated with the family in a post on Twitter.
“Our thoughts are with his family, friends and all who knew him,” the association wrote.
The late sports enthusiast was the GFA Chairman between 1997 and 2001.
It was under his watch that Black Starlets lifted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1995.
He is currently the chairman of the Premier League Management Committee (PLMC).
Mr Jawula was also the Lepowura of the Kujolobito Gate of Lepo-Kpembe in the Northern Region.
Maxwell Agyemang scored at the death of the game to seal the win for Asante Kotoko in their 2-1 win over Benab FC in the MTN FA Cup Round of 32 on Saturday at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
The defender saved the home side from a penalty shootout with a his goal late in injury time.
It was a highly competitive game as the lower tier side Benab FC gave the Ghanaian giants a run for their money.
Kotoko took the lead in the first half through an own goal from Benab’s Alhassan in the 17th minute.
The Porcupine Warriors went into the break leading the tie by a lone goal.
After recess, Benab FC dominated play and were rewarded with the equalizer in the 69th minute through Umar.
The Division One side came close to scoring a second but were denied by Kotoko goalkeeper Frederick Asare.
A great save from the Benab goalkeeper denied Richmond Lamptey from being the hero of the day in the 90th minute.
Maxwell Agyemang scored with the last kick of the game from a corner kick to seal the win for the Ghana Premier League champions.
Kotoko will wait for the opponent in the Round of 16.
Besiktas have swooped to sign Vincent Aboubakar after his release from Al Nassr following Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival.
Aboubakar’s contract was terminated by the Saudi Arabian club to make way for Ronaldo, as the Saudi League rules state that clubs can only register up to eight foreign players per squad.
The arrival of Aboubakar is a replacement for Wout Weghorst, who cut short his loan in Turkey and joined Manchester United from Burnley.
Aboubakar is embarking on his third tenure with Besiktaş, having already had two spells over the past five years.
He spearheaded the club to two Super Lig titles with an impressive 35 goals and nine assists in 67 matches. The forward spent two season with Al-Nassr, scoring 13 goals in 39 games.
He impressed at the World Cup in Qatar, scoring one of the goals of the tournament and a winner against Brazil.
Former Black Stars Coach James Kwesi Appiah has explained why he applied for the vacant Black Stars managerial job.
The Ghana FA has been in search for a new coach for the senior national team since the departure of Otto Addo after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Earlier this month, the spokesperson of the FA, Henry Asante Twum revealed that over 60 coaches have applied for the role, with Kwesi Appiah becoming the latest to apply.
“It is true. After the FA came out no Ghanaian has applied for the vacant Black Stars job, I thought it wise to apply being a Ghanaian. I felt we need to prove that we can also do good things for the Black Stars to achieve greatness, hence my application” Kwesi Appiah explain to Sompa FM.
Kwesi Appiah is seeking to become Coach of the Black Stars for the third time. The former Ghana player managed the team from 2012 to 2014 and also from 2017–2020.
Appiah led the team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where Ghana exited in the Group stages. He also led the team at the 2019 AFCON, where Ghana exited in the Round of 16 after losing on penalties to Tunisia.
Meanwhile, the new Black Stars Coach is expected to be announced in the coming days, in-time to prepare for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Sudan in March.
Black Galaxies coach Annor Walker has shared how he inspired his players to defeat Sudan in the Championship for African Nations (CHAN).
The home-based national team came from behind to defeat Sudan in the second Group C game at the tournament.
Ghana inflicted a 3-1 win over Sudan to boost their chances of progressing to the knockout phase of the competition.
Sudan took the lead on the half hour mark through Hussein Mohammed but goals from Konadu Yiadom, Afriyie Barnieh and Suraj Seidu was enough for the Black Galaxies to secure victory.
According to him, he had to psych his players after conceding first goal in the clash.
“I am very happy for the win. It’s a win for the team for Ghana and for all Ghanaians. Thank you to all Ghanaians and thank you to everyone who supported Ghana,” he said at the post match presser.
“My players looked surprised after conceding the goal. When I got the opportunity to talk to them I psyched them up and let them know it’s not over yet. I told them we can really make it and I made them know it’s not over until it is all over.
“We knew we don’t have supporters here and we wouldn’t get much support at the stadium. We relied on ourselves to fight to survive. We saw the fans shouting in support of Sudan and we knew we had to fight for ourselves and that’s what made us successful.”
