The 2019-20 Ghana Premier League season has got off to a blistering start with exciting results after five match weeks. There have been topsy-turvy moments for most teams while others cannot seem to stop their plummeting from grace in the race for survival.
Amidst the cheers and jeers, there have been magnificent teenage talents who have been alternating gears to steer their sides to record impressive results so far in the campaign.
It’s a battle for glory and definitely footballmadeinghana.com has selected some of these prodigies who are writing a beautiful story for their respective clubs in Ghana’s top flight.
1) IBRAHIM DANLAD- 17 YEARS (BEREKUM CHELSEA)
450 minutes played, no goal conceded; that’s the enviable record 17 year old Ibrahim Danlaad holds as goalkeeper for the league’s table toppers Berekum Chelsea. On loan at the 2010 league champions from Asante Kotoko, Danlaad has been very instrumental as Chelsea remain the only side yet to concede a goal. The Brong based side is yet to lose a game and the former U-17 goalkeeper has been a key factor as to why the Chelsea defense looks impregnable.
2) MATTHEW ANIM-CUDJOE 16 YEARS (ASANTE KOTOKO)
Young Matthew might have shot to fame when he joined Asante Kotoko from Young Apostles but his football talent was discovered 2 years ago during the BabyJet U-16 tournament (a talent hunt initiative organized by an outfit owned by Asamoah Gyan)
The 16 year old has not had plenty minutes but has certainly made the most of the few he’s had. After chalking the enviable feat of being the youngest ever debutant for Kotoko in the league during a clash with Legon Cities FC, Matthew Anim-Cudjoe took things a notch higher when he scored on Sunday against Ebusua Dwarfs.
The goal secured his status as Kotoko’s youngest ever goal scorer in the Ghana Premier League. For someone making his bow in the top flight for a giant like Kotoko, things can only get better for the young lad.
3) PRINCE ADU KWABENA 16 YEARS (BECHEM UNITED)
Young, talented and prolific. Strikers of the ilk of Prince Adu Kwabena come more by design than by chance.
The 16 year old is undeniably the most prolific teenager in Ghana’s top flight at the moment. The Bechem hitman has registered 5 goals in 5 games and is second on the top scorers chart. His goals have directly won his side 7 points of the 10 they have accumulated so far.
4) NANA KOFI BABIL 17 YEARS (MEDEAMA SC)
Call him the Premier League’s ‘super sub’ and you’re not far from wrong. Nana Kofi Babil has registered 3 goals while climbing off the bench for the Mauves and Yellows. Focusing solely on his goals will not be fair to the young attacker whose energetic runs and trickery form part of his major attributes. He’s proven a reliable go-to guy that Coach Samuel Boadu can fall on when happenings on the pitch works opposite from the original game plan.
5) DANIEL OWUSU 16 YEARS (WAFA)
Daniel Owusu was named best player at the 2018 Next Generation Trophy in Salzburg, Austria. He’s never looked back since.
The youngster takes inspiration from Kylian Mbappe, a disclosure he made in a video after scoring his debut premier league goal for WAFA.
With the exception of WAFA’s opening game against Karela United, 16 year old Owusu has not missed a game for the club this term. He came on as a sub against Dwarfs to register his first ever league goal and has since amassed over 293 minutes of league action.
He’s started the club’s last three games (Inter Allies, Hearts of Oak and Elmina Sharks) as WAFA have stayed unbeaten this season.
For a very young striker making his debut, Daniel Owusu has surely done much to earn a mention in our list of best performing teenagers in the premier league.
6) EBENEZER ACKAHBI 16 YEARS (MEDEAMA SC)
Tarkwa’s and Medeama’s very own! For a 16 year old to consistently command a starting berth in such a hugely talented attacking squad is testament to the immense football brains Ebenezer Ackahbi possesses.
Definitely Ackahbi got to where he is now by merit and his performances have never raised eyebrows as to why he is mostly a starter. He is pacy, full of tricks and constantly a major threat for opponent’s defenders. This was evidently at play when Hearts visited Tarkwa on Match Week 2.
Such was Akhabi’s enormous performance that he was rightly named Man of the Match. If he sustains his exploits at the start of the season throughout the campaign, he should surely make the list of best young players.
Source: Footballmadeinghana
