Sports News of Monday, 10 September 2018

Source: ghanasoccernet.com

Kwesi Appiah to meet Asamoah Gyan, Ayews and set rules before their return to Black Stars

Black Stars Coach, Kwesi Appiah Black Stars Coach, Kwesi Appiah

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah will travel to Turkey to meet with captain Asamoah Gyan and Andre Ayew to set the ground rules for good conduct before allowing them to return to the Black Stars for their future matches.

The trainer will also travel to England to meet with Crystal Palace attacker Jordan Ayew before making the decision to recall to the Premier League player to the national team for subsequent matches in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Ghana have been tipped as favourites to win their qualifying Group F for the tournament to be held in Cameroon and there are highly lucrative odds and more for the Black Stars.

Appiah has not been impressed with his new additions into the Black Stars and will turn to the tried and tested method by inviting the Ayews and Gyan after axing them for the match against Kenya which ended in a shock defeat on Saturday

The coach was willing to go through the entire qualification series without the two leading figures who have been accused in certain quarters of being divisive figures in the team.

Sources have told Ghana's leading football news website GHANAsoccernet.com that Appiah will make a trip to Turkey to hold a clear the air meeting with both Gyan and his deputy Andre Ayew before extending an invite in October.

The 1-0 defeat to Kenya has left the former Asante Kotoko man pondering a second plan that will see both Gyan and Andre return but only if they are willing to fight for their position like any other invitee.

Jordan Ayew has already been lined up after both Majeed Waris and Raphael Dwamena could not sparkle as they missed gilt-edged chances that were more difficult to miss than to score in the painful defeat in Nairobi.

The move to bring back the Ayews despite being a back step is viewed by handlers of the national team as a more trusted process as most of the new players have shown tremendous potential in training but have vanished into thin air during water tight games.

It is thought that the experience of Gyan will be key to new forwards who can rely on him while Andre Ayew is expected to be peppered up to prove a point following the recent snub.

The likes of Wakaso and Jonathan Mensah have been mentioned but it is thought that Appiah is not so keen rushing to bring back all of them at once.

The coach feels positions should be earned through minutes at club level and commitment towards national interest rather than fueling an individual's ambitions.

Ghana still lead group F in the qualification series but only on goal difference and technical handlers know that the remaining games could be tricky.

An own goal helped 10-man Kenya sail over Ghana in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Kasarani yesterday.

Consequently, Harambee Stars are back on track in their quest to play in next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.

The goal that made all the difference came in the 40th minute when Ghanaian defender Nicholas Opoku put the ball in his own net.