Top 4 young talents who can oil Black Stars

Switching nationalities in football reflects not only the spirit of football but how the global game has truly become globalised without borders.

Most countries like Ghana have been victims when it comes to losing out great footballing talent, partly because the benefiting countries have all-encompassing policies that support young players to develop into world class footballers, who later represent their nations diligently even without any clear traceable ancestry. Below are four talented footballers of Ghanaian origin that country could lure to play for the Black Stars.

Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao)

Inaki Williams was born in Spain to a Ghanaian father, Felix Williams, and to a Liberian mother. Tipped as one of best young players in Europe, he busted into the football scene in 2014, profiting from Aritz Aduriz's injury, Williams made his first team and La Liga debut in a 0-1 loss against Cordoba CF. And since then Williams has become a regular member of the Athletico Bilbao team.

The player who joined Bilbao's academy at age 16 is eligible to play for Ghana, Liberia and Spain but with the country of his mother not being a major soccer nation, Williams's logical choice of a national team lies between Ghana and his country of birth, Spain.

Blessed with pace and trickery, the 21 year-old has shown that he has all it takes to perform at the top level. If the country's attempt to have him switch his nationality succeeds, Inaki Williams will no doubt offer the Black Stars with a very lethal attack.

Just to show how valuable the player is, Bilbao has placed a £50million price tag on striker.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Manchester United)

Timothy Fosu-Mensah is a Dutch-born youngster of Ghana parentage who plays for English giants Manchester United as a defender or a makeshift central midfielder.

The former Ajax academy product signed by Manchester United in 2014, has represented the Netherlands' youth setups up to the U-19 level, which means that his is still eligible to play for Ghana at the senior level.

The defender who has benefitted from Manchester United's injury-hit season, made his debut for the first team against Arsenal in February this year. Since breaking into the senior team, Fosu-Mensah has been outstanding and according to the player's agency, Stellar Group, the Ghana FA has already made contact with the defender to switch his nationality in order to represent Ghana at senior level.

Born in Amsterdam, the 18-year can play as a left-back, central defender or midfielder and has been tipped for greatness. If Ghana's FA attempt to have him play for the country gets a shot in the arm, the teenager could well be a very important asset for the national team in future. However, Ghana faces tough competition from the Netherlands, where the player is highly rated.

Joshua Onomah (Tottenham Hotspurs)

Another player of Ghanaian roots is Tottenham Hotspur's young attacking midfielder Joshua Onomah.

Born in Enfield, London, Onomah came through the youth ranks of Tottenham Spurs. He made his first-team appearance in January 2015 in the English FA cup against Burnley as an 18 year-old.

The player who turns 19 on the 27th of this month has represented England at the junior level but is still eligible to play for the Black Stars. Onomah's parents hail from Ghana which means that per FIFA regulations, the young midfielder can switch nationality to the country of his parents.

Onomah is certainly one for the future and the Ghana FA will have to step up efforts to stand any chance of warding off England's in the player.

His development has very remarkably, earning him a four-year contract extension early this year at the White Lane, plus promotion to Tottenham's first team, who are currently second on the English Premier League table.

Gideon Jung (Hamburger SV)

Born in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1994 to Ghanaian parents, Gideon Jung started his career at Sportfreunde Baumberg, a German amateur football club in the 2011-2012 season before moving to Rot-Weiß Oberhausen the ensuing season. In the 2012-2013 season, Jung was spotted by Hamburger, who eventually signed the versatile midfielder in July, 2014.

The defensive midfielder who now plies his trade with Hamburger SV in the German top-flight is yet to be capped at the international level. He is eligible to play for either Germany or Ghana though there are reports in the Deutschland that the young Ghanaian could be included in the German national U-23 team for this year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

This means that there is need for the country's football authority to take proactive steps at protecting its interest in the player, who undoubtedly has all the qualities to be reach the top of his career.

There many examples of young footballers of Ghanaian origin out there for grasp but to fully benefit from the service of footballers who trace their roots to the country, the Ghana Football Association together with the sports ministry and other stakeholders should look developing policies at spotting and supporting young footballers rather than only going after them when they have become stars. This policy may not even be in the form of material support, but just a show of genuine concern in the player's development from a tender age could do the trick.

The past has taught country valuable lessons. The acrimony of being jilted must end! There are many Ghanaian footballers that if the country had succeeded in persuading them to play for the senior national team might have helped the Black Stars win a trophy or two in the process!