Sports News of Wednesday, 1 February 2023

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

From Techiman to Southampton: The story of Kamaldeen Sulemana

Ghanaian winger, Kamaldeen Sulemana Ghanaian winger, Kamaldeen Sulemana

Born in Techiman, the Bono East of Ghana, Kamaldeen Sulemana was discovered playing football in his community as a very young boy.

The boy from Techiman was soon scouted by Right to Dream Academy where he gained tuition and nurtured his football talent.

In 2019, Kamaldeen graduated from the Right to Dream Academy to join his first professional team, FC Nordsjælland in Denmark, a Right to Dream Academy cooperative club, on his 18th birthday.

He made his debut for the club just a week later against SønderjyskE in the Danish Superliga. The winger went on to make 43 appearances for the club.

He scored 14 times in his time with the Danish outfit, including an impressive five goals in five games in April 2021 which earned him the Superliga Player of the Month award.

In July 2021, Sulemana signed for Ligue 1 club Rennes for a record fee for the Danish league.

Kamaldeen Sulemana who was tipped as one of the next biggest players to come out of Ghana joined Stade Rennes on the back of an impressive spell with FC Nordsjaelland.

He made his full debut for the club against Lens in the first game of the 2021/22 season, scoring the only goal after just 14 minutes in a game that ended 1-1.

His first season in the French Lig Un saw him set some good records like winning Ligue 1 Player of the Month for October in the 2021/2022 season.

Kamaldeen’s fine form at the club level caught the attention of the Ghana national team and was invited to make his debut against Mali in a friendly match in 2021.
Since then, the winger has gone on to make 15 caps for the Black Stars, including two appearances at the 2022 World Cup and 3 appearances in the AFCON.

After a string of short injuries, the 20-year-old lost his place in the starting role at Stade Rennes and became more of an option.

The young talent scored six times and provided four assists in a further 46 appearances for the club before earning a move to Southampton on transfer deadline day.

Kamaldeen Sulemana had the option to choose Everton but chose to join the Saints on a four-and-a-half-year deal.

Sulemana is already experienced at both club and international levels and is comfortable playing in a wide or central position.

A promising emerging talent is credited for his technical ability, dribbling and speed.