Satellites goalie, Attamah to make Stars team?

Two former Black Satellites teammates, Lawrence Ati-Zigi and Joseph Larweh Attamah, could be surprise additions in the long-awaited Black Stars provisional list for the Gabon 2017 AFCON.

The names of the two players came up strongly during a no-holds-barred meeting between the Black Stars Management Committee and the Stars head coach, Avram Grant, in Accra last Monday.

Goalkeeper Ati-Zigi, 20, and Attamah, 22, both excelled during the Satellites’ FIFA U-20 World Cup campaign in New Zealand in 2013 and have been knocking on the doors of the senior national team since then with their impressive performance for Red Bull Salzburg/FC Leifering and İstanbul Başakşehir respectively.

Another potential is Manchester City’s gifted midfielder, Yaw Yeboah, currently on loan with FC Twente in Holland, who was also a revelation in New Zealand.

Last Monday’s emergency meeting, held at the instance of the Stars management committee, was to scrutinise a 30-man squad earlier submitted by Grant and also afford him the opportunity to defend the inclusion of certain players.

In what was described as a healthy discussion, a source told the Graphic Sports yesterday that the committee told the coach about the need to change the face of the team following its abysmal performances of late and, therefore, suggested the inclusion of some players, who in their view, were performing better than others in the list.

According to the source, the committee made it clear to Grant that it did not believe the team he presented could live up to expectation in Gabon, having played five matches in recent times without the required results, scoring only two goals and conceding four.

The source emphasised that the committee therefore impressed upon Grant to consider tightening his defence and also review his attacking line to boost Ghana’s chances at AFCON 2017.

While Grant is said to have been overtaken by events due to the way the meeting went, the committee members were categorical about six to eight players whom they wanted to be replaced by some foreign-based players who were in better shape than them.

Apart from current form, the committee also urged the Stars coach to consider the issue of age, especially regarding players who were not regular in the team.

At the end of it all, Grant gave in to the proposal by including five of the players in the provisional squad, promising to do further checks on them.

The source, however, hinted that Latif Blessing, who was recently adjudged the best player-cum-top scorer in the Ghana Premier League, is the only local player in the 30-man squad.

It disclosed that unlike previously, the final 23-man squad for the tournament will be named at the end of the non-residential camping on Saturday before the team flies to Dubai for the final phase of preparations from January 2-13.

However, five players will be put on a waiting list for any eventuality, while the GFA is expected tosubmit the final list to CAF 10 clear days to the tournament.