Ghanaians like Tony Yeboah, Michael Essien, Asamoah Gyan, John Mensah, John Paintsil, Sulley Muntari, Andre Ayew have excelled in the English Premier League.
However, the world’s most popular league has proved to be a difficult ground for these Ghanaians who couldn’t find their feet there or are yet to do so, despite getting the opportunity to prove a point.
Nii Odartey Lamptey
He joined Aston Villa in 1994-1995 season, but the exciting Ghanaian attacker who joined the English Premier League from PSV with high hopes of impressing failed to glitter as he played just ten games for the English topflight side in all contest and could only score three (3) goals which came in the League Cup.
Alex Nyarko
The former Black Stars midfielder arrived at Everton with much expectation from football faithfully because he was involved in a big money transfer from RC Lens- £4.5 million in 2000.
However, he scored just a goal in thirty (33) appearances in all competitions and he never recovered from an incident in a game against Arsenal in the 2000-01. A fan came on the pitch and offered him his own royal blue Everton shirt, signalling that Nyarko wasn't good enough to wear the colours of Everton. After the fan was escorted away by police, Nyarko requested to be substituted and transferred.
Eventually, he went on loan to French giants AS Monaco FC just days later for the rest of the season, and then had a loan spell at Paris Saint-Germain for the entire 2002–03 season.
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
He is one of the most talented Ghanaian players to ply their trade in England. Abeyie is a natural gifted footballer and he combines speed with dribbles, yet he battled to settle in the English Premier League despite three seasons with the Gunners in the topflight.
Quincy Owusu Abeyie played only 23 games in all competitions, scoring two in the process, but just five (5) of them were Premier League games and he never scored a goal in the English topflight league.
Nii Odartey Lamptey
He joined Aston Villa in 1994-1995 season, but the exciting Ghanaian attacker who joined the English Premier League from PSV with high hopes of impressing failed to glitter as he played just ten games for the English topflight side in all contest and could only score three (3) goals which came in the League Cup.
Alex Nyarko
The former Black Stars midfielder arrived at Everton with much expectation from football faithfully because he was involved in a big money transfer from RC Lens- £4.5 million in 2000.
However, he scored just a goal in thirty (33) appearances in all competitions and he never recovered from an incident in a game against Arsenal in the 2000-01. A fan came on the pitch and offered him his own royal blue Everton shirt, signalling that Nyarko wasn't good enough to wear the colours of Everton. After the fan was escorted away by police, Nyarko requested to be substituted and transferred.
play Alex Nyarko
Eventually, he went on loan to French giants AS Monaco FC just days later for the rest of the season, and then had a loan spell at Paris Saint-Germain for the entire 2002–03 season.
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
He is one of the most talented Ghanaian players to ply their trade in England. Abeyie is a natural gifted footballer and he combines speed with dribbles, yet he battled to settle in the English Premier League despite three seasons with the Gunners in the topflight.
Quincy Owusu Abeyie played only 23 games in all competitions, scoring two in the process, but just five (5) of them were Premier League games and he never scored a goal in the English topflight league.
Emmanuel Frimpong
The Ghanaian midfielder failed woefully in the Premier League. In two seasons with Arsenal he played 16 games in all competitions and was selected (6) times for premier league games, but he never scored in any of those games.
Arsenal loaned him to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the second half of the 2011-12 season, yet he could only manage five (5) Premier League games, without finding the back of the net.
Arsene Wenger who anticipated Emmanuel Frimpong could one day marshal his midfield handed him another loan spell with a Premier League side-Fulham. Frimpong struggled yet again at Fulham and appeared in just six (6), amidst injury troubles.
His stint with Fulham was the end of the road for the former Arsenal man as a Premier League Player.
Christian Atsu
The Ghana winger since the time he was signed from FC Porto by Chelsea has struggled to make an impact.
On 1 September 2013 Atsu agreed to join Chelsea on a five-year contract, for a reported £3.5 million, being immediately loaned to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, for the rest of the 2013–14 season.
On 13 August 2014, Atsu joined fellow Premier League club Everton on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. He made five appearances in the English Premier League for the Toffees and he registered his name on the scoresheet. In all competitions he played 13 games, without scoring.
Christian Atsu was loaned to Bournemouth, a less fancied English Premier League outfit, the following season, but Atsu struggled to break into the team. He didn’t feature in any English premier League game, however, he was selected for two cup games, before he was recalled from loan by Chelsea.
Jordan Ayew
The former Olympique Marseille striker in his debut Premier League season with Aston Villa scored seven goals in all competitions, but they were not enough to save his team from suffering their first relegation in the English Premier League.
He was expected to improve on his Premier League performance when he was handed a second chance by Swansea City to play in the English topflight league during the January transfer, yet he is still searching for his first goal for his new side.
Source: pulse.com.gh