PRINCE BUABEN has come a long way to get to Dundee United but reckons the destination has made the journey worthwhile.

The 19-year-old arrived on Tayside as a relative unknown on these shores but his remarkable story merely underlines the trials and tribulations that took him from his Ghana homeland as a refugee to Tannadice via Ajax's world-famous footballing academy and a public park in Manchester.

United's midfielder may have taken an unusual route to reach his stop-off with Craig Levein but given his undoubted drive, dedication and talent Tannadice is unlikely to be his final destination.

Buaben always knew he'd be a footballer and as a primary schoolkid in Ghana his undying love of the game brought him quite a few thick ears from his gran.

He said: "I started playing football when I was a young kid. I always played. When they told me to go to school I took a ball.

"I'd just play football and when I got home having not gone to school my grandmother would get really angry.

"But she was the one who always bought me a ball because she knew I loved the game and that's what I wanted. All kids in Ghana want that but not everyone gets the chance."

Buaben's footballing break came as nine-year-old but the circumstances were far fromideal as he fled from Ghana with his family to Holland.

But in a country where the game is second nature the African knew his new home would provide the chance to fulfil his dreams in the homeland of Johan Cryuff.

He said: "When I went to Holland I was focused on football all of the time and I was lucky enough to go to Ajax.

"I played for Zeeburgia and Ajax coach Danny Blind, the former captain of Holland, saw me and invited me. I couldn't believe that because that was my aim.

"Evander Sno, who is now at Celtic, was there along with a lot of other talented people and I did well. Ajax wanted to offer me a contract but the rules said I couldn't because I did not have a resident's permit.

"I could not play professionally so they had to let me go. Even so, I'd still learned an awful lot about technique and my game."

With his dreams in tatters due to red tape, it was time for another change of scenery.

By this time Buaben's mother, Comfort, was settled in the Manchester suburb of Audenshaw and summoned her boy to the UK. Buaben attended college but football remained his No.1 passion and it was from a public park in Lancashire that his opportunity to hit the big time arrived.

He said: "When I went to England, I had to work hard and my mum was always going on at me to keep up my fitness. I ended up going to the gym every day to build myself up.

"She was right. Manchester United came to watch me but said my fitness was not good enough. Manchester City said the same.

"I was playing with some friends in a public park and some guys asked me to join their amateur team. I was going to college but I just wanted to play football and I was picked up while playing with the rest of my friends in the park.

"A coach called Chukwuma Akuneto, who used to play for Nigeria, recommended me and I was asked if I'd be interested in going to Scotland."

Levein had been tipped off about Buaben's potential and was willing to give the teenager a chance.

However, it was all a shock to the kid's system. He said: "I'd heard of Dundee and I knew about the Scottish league because I was following Sno's progress.

"But on the first day, I didn't like it. It was the first of pre-season and it was running all day. I was so tired."

Levein worked him hard and his obvious potential led to a quickfire promotion to the first team for the pre-season fixtures.

Buaben said: "It was nice to get a chance so quickly. I read in the newspaper when I first joined that the manager said I was one for the future. When I saw that, I agreed, but I wanted to play a few games. I didn't expect to have played as many by now.

"I just wanted to work hard and get experience but everything has gone well.

"In my first week, I'd come from nowhere and was playing against Barcelona. That gave me another push."

Buaben has repaid Levein's faith in style since and his performances have been a feature of the team's impressive season.

Composed in his passing and comfortable in possession, the youngster's form brought a call-up to the Ghana squad for last month's friendly against Mexico.

Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari came easy to Buaben and whetted his appetite to rise to the top echelons of the game which has been his life.

He said: "I want to go up and up. If I stay here for a few years, great. Dundee United is a good club to play for but it is true I do not want to stay in the SPL all my life. Like all players, I want to progress to the top.

"My manager has done a lot for me and helped me. I've learned a lot about being footballer on and off the pitch and he teaches me a lot in training, too.

"Playing for the national team was incredible. It was wonderful playing alongside players who are my idols, such as Essien, but they are just normal guys.

"I heard I could have gone to the Africa Cup of Nations but I had a slight injury before the tournament and it was felt it would be better for me to stay and get my place back at United."

Buaben could get his latest chance to shine in tomorrow's SPL clash against Rangers at Tannadice.

Having come close to defeating Walter Smith's team in last month's CIS Cup Final, United are confident going into this game.

Buaben said: "Everybody knows we were the better team and it was just unlucky to lose on penalties. But in my mind I'll always feel as though we won the Cup because we deserved to win the game.

"Sunday will be a different game but we beat them at Tannadice earlier in the season and hope to do so again."

Certainly, if there is a man who can handle the challenge of Rangers, it is Buaben. He said: "What I've come through has givenme a lot of strength."

United could use some of it tomorrow.