Asamoah Gyan is the latest to
hail new international teammate Christian Atsu’s exploits after starring
alongside the FC Porto winger for the Black Stars against Malawi.
From virtual obscurity, Atsu
has risen to become the most talked about Ghana player at the moment after
impressing for the national team on his debut against Lesotho in June.
A maiden first team start and
90 minutes came against Malawi’s Flames in the first leg Africa Cup 2013
qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium as Gyan also captained Ghana for the first
time. Atsu was again not only quick off the mark scoring the opening goal, he
also dazzled throughout with his deft touches, leaving everyone including Gyan
in awe.
“He’s a young lad who has
done so well already. I saw his game in Kumasi (against Lesotho) and he did
well. He is doing well and if he continues the same way, then the future is
very bright for him,” Gyan told 90 MINUTES exclusively.
The Al Ain hitman added: “And
for the national team, we’ll be very delighted because he can only make us stronger.”
Meanwhile legendary coach Sam
Arday who nurtured Atsu at an early age at the Gomoa Fetteh Feyenoord Academy,
is warning the player not to get swollen-headed and concentrate on working hard
to improve.
“He should be very careful
and not listen to any of the praises because if he doesn’t take care, they will
spoil him. These people singing his praises today are the very people who will
crucify him if his form suffers so I will urge him to work harder than before
because there is still a lot of room for improvement,” Coach Arday told us
exclusively.