Football
Michael Oti Adjei, Special to ESPN 7y

Yeboah: Africans will have it tough in English Premier League

Ghana legend Anthony Yeboah says African players will have their work cut out more than ever before in the English Premier League.

The former Leeds United forward, one of the first African players to thrive in the English top-flight, told KweséESPN that more money and the influx of more players into the league means it would take even more effort to be get noticed.

The African contingent in the new Premier League season will be stronger than ever with the addition of Egypt's Mohammed Salah and Ghana's Christian Atsu at Newcastle, added to a cast that already included Liverpool's Senegal forward Sadio Mane and the Nigeria duo of Kelechi Iheanacho at Leicester City and Alex Iwobi, who is on the books of Arsenal.

"I am glad that now Africans are gaining more and more acceptance in the Premier League," Yeboah said. "You can see that after what the likes of Essien, Drogba, Kanu and to an extent myself did in the league, it enhanced the reputation of African players and has opened up a lot more opportunities for players from the continent and I am particularly happy about that. In a way it is up to the present generation to keep that going.

"The increasing quality of the Premier League now and its growing financial power means that the field is a lot more competitive than it has ever been. The Premier League is spending a lot more money on the best players in the world, which means the African players there would have their work even more cut out now."

Yeboah enjoyed a successful time at Leeds United between 1995 to 1997, scoring 33 goals in 60 games, including two stunning volleys against Wimbledon and Liverpool that are considered two of the greatest in the league's history.

The 51-year-old freely admits he never quite enjoyed playing football and that attitude is reflected in how he has kept a distance from the sport since retiring, especially after a failed attempt to own and run a club in Ghana.

He spends his days playing golf and managing a hotel business, but that has not stopped him from keeping an eye on the Ghanaian contingent in the Premier League.

No Ghanaian has come close to replicating his goalscoring form in the Premier League, but Yeboah is hopeful the Black Stars trio of Jordan and Andre Ayew and Christian Atsu will have a significant impact on the league.

Andre Ayew was a hit at Swansea City in his first season in English football with 12 League goals, but he scored only six after switching to West Ham last season. His campaign was disrupted by injury, but Yeboah says second season difficulties are normal and he expects Andre to overcome that next season.

"After your first season, everyone gets to know you more," he said. "You are no longer a surprise. Coaches know your strength, the opposing players read you better, they know what you do and what you don't, so the second season tends to be more difficult.

"But Andre has always proven he can deal with these things. He will be fired up to prove this season that the first season was no fluke and how last season went was not exactly reflective of him."

Andre's younger brother Jordan would be on a similar mission, having returned to the English top-flight after half-a-season in the Championship with Swansea. The criticism of the younger Ayew has been his lack of goals, but Yeboah says that misses the point about the strength of his game.

"These days in football you don't need to score to be useful to a team. Jordan won't give you 15 or 20 goals a season because he is not that kind of player," Yeboah claims. "He is not that kind of player because he works hard for the team, chases balls, he tackles, which means he does not stay in the box a lot.

"What he has is the strength and skill-set to create chances for the team. He is a good team player and his side will benefit from using his strength in that regard. It would be nice if he scores more goals, but there is a lot of more to his game than that. "

Like many Ghanaians, Yeboah is also thrilled that Atsu could finally get his Premier League breakthrough at Newcastle after failing to make the most of loan spells at Everton and Bournemouth.

"I am delighted for Atsu. He has been tossed around on loan from one club to the other but he seems to have found a base at a very good club like Newcastle United. 

"The Premier League will test him incredibly. It requires strength, a strong personality and such great discipline, but he is such a good player and I really hope he can prove that in the Premier League," Yeboah concluded.

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