Ebenezer Sefa, a veteran football coach and scout, has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to establish deadlines for defender Mohammed Salisu to decide whether or not to play for the Black Stars. Salisu is regarded as one of Europe's greatest young defenders, having made a strong start for Southampton in the English Premier League this season. All attempts to get him to play for the Black Stars have so far failed, with the Centre-back turning down a call-up to even compete in the AFCON in Cameroon in 2021. Since 2019, the Southampton defender has been called up by four different Black Stars coaches, but he has turned down each offer.
Coach Ebenezer Sefa addressed the subject in an interview with Luv Fm, urging the GFA to establish a deadline for Salisu to play for the senior national team. Coach Sefa believes that if the young ambitious defender does not make himself available by the deadline, the country should not call him up. "At the very least, the World Cup is still months away." If he's ready to come and play, that's great; if he's not, we should trust the people who are. I'm not suggesting that we abandon our pursuit of him, but there must be a limit. A time limit should be imposed. If we face Angola in AFCON qualifiers in May and that young man hasn't made up his mind, we should forget about him and focus on those who are ready to play because we need to focus from May to November when the World Cup begins," he remarked.
Though Ghana needs excellent players for the World Cup, Coach Sefah, who has served as a scout for some junior national teams and prominent clubs in the country, believes Salisu will not be the first person to reject his country. "I mean, Ginola never played for France again after Gerrad Houllier dropped him, and Cantona never played for France again after coach Henri Michel dropped him for misbehavior. Coach Sefa highlighted, "And these were quality players." Ghana, which has been placed in Group E alongside Madagascar, Angola, and the Central African Republic, is set to begin the 2023 AFCON qualifiers next month.
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