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Why the statistics favour Kevin-Prince Boateng’s return

The 29-year-old striker is the most outstanding Ghana international this season by virtue of his statistics.

Last season at AC Milan he played 188 minutes and featured in 11 games, scoring just a goal. Hence this season is a vast improvement on his performance last term.

Due to Kevin-prince Boateng’s impressive display this term, there have been calls for his return into the Black Stars- the team have not won in their last four games, so the Las Palmas striker is seen as the solution to Ghana’s goal shy in recent games.

The 29-year-old has also come out to express his desire to feature in a third FIFA World Cup with Black Stars

However, he is still serving his indefinite suspension from the Black Stars, after he was thrown out of the team’s camp during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and is yet to show any romorse for his action.

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But as it stands now he is the most in-form Ghanaian player, which is evident from his statistics. He is the only Ghanaian, playing in one of the top five leagues in the World with four goals to his credit and one of his goals won CNN Best Goal last week.

And among the regular Black Stars strikers and attacking midfielders, only Samuel Tetteh and Asamoah Gyan have scored ten and five respectively for Liefering and  Al Ahly Dubai, but the co-efficient of the La Liga is higher than the UAE League and the Austrian second-tier leagues which still makes Boateng’s four goals stand out.

Kevin-Prince Boateng has made just 12 appearances for the Black Stars, scoring two goals, but his impact was heavily felt in most of the games he played, especially during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Let’s look at how Kevin Prince Boateng’s compatriots, playing in similar positions as attacking midfielders/strikers have felt this season in their teams:

Asamoah Gyan

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The Black Stars skipper has played a total of 339 minutes- He has started four of the seven games played this season and scored five goals.

Andre Ayew

The 26-year-old has been sidelined this season by injury, after making a big money move from Swansea to West Ham United.

Majid Waris

The Lorient striker has found the back of the net once this season in 11 games played -He has started 8 times and has come on as a substitute in 3 games and played a total of 789 minutes.

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Jordan Ayew

The 24-year-old forward has lasted on the field for 1204 minutes. He has been selected to start on 14 occasions and has been introduced in the game once.  He has recorded three goals.

Christian Atsu

The Newcastle United winger has played ten games, but he has started six games and has been introduced twice. Atsu has spent a total of 323 minutes on the field and scored just a goal.

Frank Acheampong

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The Anderlecht winger has the most minutes played among the players selected for this comparison. He has played a total of 1790 minutes this season and scored one goal in 21 matches in all competitions.

Samuel Tetteh

The youngster has scored 10 goals in 16 appearances for Liefering in the second-tier Austrian League. He has played a total of 1323 minutes

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