Sports News of Friday, 17 July 2020

Source: ghanasoccernet.com

From Nima to Amsterdam: Kudus' journey to stardom

Kudus is on a five-year deal at Ajax Kudus is on a five-year deal at Ajax

Nima-born Ghanaian midfielder, Kudus Mohammed, has expressed his joy after completing a switch to Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam.

The 19-year-old joins Erik ten Hag's fold from Danish outfit Nordsjaelland on a five-year deal after completing a mandatory medical test on Thursday.

The deal is reported to be in the region of €9 million with the option to extend for one year.

To celebrate the big move to Ajax, Mohammed shared a video of her mother who sells at Nima market.

He started to play on the bumpy lanes in the district of Nima in the capital city of Ghana, Accra. Nima is a slum in Accra with small housing structures and less space to play football.

His move to one of Europe's elite clubs makes him the second native of the area to attain such stardom status after the legendary Mohammed Polo.

Polo popularly known as the 'Dribbling Magician', is a former Ghanaian international and arguably the most technically gifted player ever to emerge from Ghana.

He was a key figure for Ghana when the West Africa giants won the 1978 African Cup of Nations held in Ghana. Polo was a left winger and played for Ghana Premier League giants Hearts of Oak.

The Right to Dream Academy graduate was pictured with a bold 'Nima Native' inscription on the shirt that he wore to put pen to paper on the Ajax contract.

After representing Ghana at both U17 and U20 levels, Kudus made a step-up to the senior team last year, scoring on his debut as the Black Stars beat South Africa 2-0 in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier last November.