Ghanaian winger David Atanga has disclosed that goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi was nearly turned into an outfield player at Red Bull Salzburg due to his ball-playing abilities.

Atanga and Ati-Zigi played together during their time with the Austrian outfit Salzburg.

Speaking to Accra-based Mothers FM, Atanga extolled the Black Stars' shot-stopper amid backlash from a section of Ghanaians.

"Ati-Zigi has received a lot of criticism from some football fanatics. He has been labeled as a subpar goalkeeper by many. Truth be told, Ati-Zigi is not a bad goalkeeper. He is not an exception; even the greatest goalkeepers in the world, including Manuel Neuer, have bad days and make mistakes from time to time," he said.

"I would urge anyone who thinks he is not a good goalkeeper to monitor him at his club, and after watching him, you can decide whether he is good or bad. We shouldn't only base our judgment on statistics."

"A goalkeeper can concede goals during a game but will make a lot of saves. We played together at Salzburg, and he was nearly turned into an outfield player. Ati-Zigi is a very good goalkeeper; it's just that there is much pressure when playing for Ghana. In our last two games against Mali and the Central African Republic, our defenders underperformed, and the goalkeeper was blamed."

Ati-Zigi appears to have regained his number one spot under new coach Otto Addo, having spent the entirety of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 campaign on the bench under former coach Chris Hughton.

The St Gallen shot-stopper kept the post against Mali and the Central African Republic as the Black Stars secured back-to-back wins to end their winless run this year.