5 Ghanaian players who flopped in 2019

There are others who have failed to live up to the billing despite the opportunities given them to shine at both club and country.

Let’s take a look into the Ghanaian players who flopped in the 2019 calendar year.

2019 has been a difficult season for the Ghanaian winger. Patrick Twumasi struggled at Deportivo Alaves and he was sent on loan to Turkish side Gazişehir Gaziantep.

The Ghanaian winger was in fine shape around 2017 and 2018, scoring week in week out for Astana in the Kazakhstan Premier League.

Patrick Twumasi’s sensational performance earned him black Stars call-ups. However, he failed to live up to the billing after signing for Spanish La Liga topflight side Alaves in the 2018-19 season.

He couldn’t break into the team and became surplus to requirement. Twumasi was sent on loan to Gazişehir Gaziantep in the Turkish Super Ligue and he is yet to rediscover his form.

The former goal machine’s career took a nosedive ever since he failed a dream move to Brighton & Hove Albion in 2017, due to an unsuccessful medical.

In the 2018/19 season, he got another opportunity to play in one of the four top leagues in Europe, after signing for Levante, but he fell down the pecking order in the team.

Raphael Dwamena managed to play 12 La Liga games without hitting the back of the net and in the 2018-19 season he was sent on loan to Real Zaragoza in the second tier of Spanish football. Even at Zaragoza, he has just scored twice in nine games and hasn’t yet hit top form.

It would be recalled that Raphael Dwamena bagged over 30 goals in the 2016-2017 season for FC Zurich and he got on the radar of several European clubs, which has been his best performance through out his career.

The Ghanaian striker spent entire last season with French Ligue 1 side FC Nantes on loan from FC Porto. He bagged five goals in 33 games.

Waris has been languishing in the reserves playing with the FC Porto B instead of the mains squad, following his return to FC Porto in the Portuguese league.

Majeed Waris has lost his place in the Back Stars and he is not getting regular football at club level as well.

He joined the Portuguese giants in September last year after penning a four-year contract.

The 27-year-old has had an inconsistent performance this year at both club and country.

The man who was once the toast of every Ghanaian football-loving fans for his dribbles and decisiveness at the opponent’s half put a below-average performance this season, especially when he had the chance to represent Ghana at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Christian Atsu came into the scene in 2013 when he was first introduced by Kwasi Appiah. Every Ghanaian was excited because a person whose play resembled the football magician Lionel Messi had emerged in the West African country. He lived up to the hype as he won the Most Valuable Player as Ghana reached the final of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Per the niche, he had carved for himself a lot was expected of him at AFCON 2019, but the Newcastle winger played as if he had lost ideas on how to be productive while playing for the Black Stars. His failed to complete most dribbles and his passes were inaccurate and on top of that, he couldn’t retain possession.

He was in the news for the wrong reasons and some Ghanaians expressed their delight when he suffered an injury against Benin that ended his tournament.

The former Heart of Lions defender although has had a good year of football with his club side Metz, his performance with the Black has been nothing to write home about.

John Boye was sent off in Ghana’s AFCON opener in a 2-2 draw with Benin in which he struggled to combat the West Africans’ direct and physical style, for time wasting, and therefore missed the clash with Cameroon.

He returned for the victory over Guinea-Bissau, but was found wanting in the 1-1 draw with Tunisia, struggling to deal with the North Africans’ movements and picking up a booking for his troubles.