Christian Atsu Twasam, a Ghanaian professional football player declared dead on 18 February who primarily played as a winger but was also used as an attacking midfielder or left back.
Atsu started his professional career with Porto and also spent a year on loan at Rio Ave. He was acquired by Chelsea for £3.15 million in 2013 and later on loaned to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, AFC Bournemouth, and Málaga. He signed a permanent transfer to Newcastle United in May 2017 after spending the 2016–17 campaign there on loan. He played for Al Raed in Saudi Arabia and Hatayspor in Turkey after his four-year contract expired. At the age of 31, he passed away in the Turkey-Syria earthquake of 2023 while playing for Hatayspor in Turkey.
Atsu, a full international with 65 appearances between 2012 and 2019, represented Ghana at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and four Africa Cup of Nations competitions. In addition to winning Player of the Tournament and Goal of the Tournament awards, he assisted the team in finishing as runners-up at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Youthful years.
Ada Foah, in the Greater Accra Region, is where Atsu was born. He lived in abject poverty as a child. Atsu completed a portion of his education at the Feyenoord Football Academy in Gomoa Fetteh, in the Central Region of Ghana, and later attended the West African Football Academy in Sogakope, in the Volta Region of Ghana. Later on, he relocated to Kasoa to join Cheetah FC.
Professional life.
Atsu, then 17 years old, arrived in Porto. He was selected by André Villas-Boas to play against Martimo in the Primeira Liga on May 14, 2011, but he remained on the bench the entire game.
Atsu was loaned to Rio Ave, a teammate in the same league, for the 2011–12 campaign, just like his teammate Kelvin. On August 28, 2011, against Olhanense at home, he made his competition debut. In the 24th minute of their match against Benfica on December 16, 2011, Atsu gave the visitors the lead at Estádio da Luz, but the home team went on to win 5-1.
He went back to Porto for the 2012–13 season, starting nine of his league games as they won the title for a third time in a row.
Chelsea.
Atsu signed a five-year contract to join Chelsea on September 1 for a reported £3.15 million, and was immediately loaned to Vitesse Arnhem of the Netherlands for the remainder of the 2013–14 campaign.
Lending to Vitesse.
Atsu made his debut against Feyenoord on October 6, 2013, coming on as a late replacement for Kazaishvili. He then assisted Mike Havenaar, but it was not enough to stop Vitesse from losing 2-1. Atsu made his debut on October 19 against SC Heerenveen, with Vitesse winning 3-2. On November 9 against FC Utrecht, he scored his first goal for Vitesse by converting a penalty; Vitesse won the game 3-1.
Atsu participated in 30 games in total, scoring 5 goals for the Dutch team as they placed sixth in the league and advanced to the playoffs.
Everton.
Atsu moved to fellow Premier League team Everton on loan on August 13, 2014, and stayed there through the end of the 2014–15 campaign. Ten days later,he made his club debut, replacing Kevin Mirallas in the 85th minute of a 2-2 draw against Arsenal at Goodison Park.
Atsu made his league debut on September 21, 2014, against Crystal Palace, which resulted in a 2-3 loss at home. On February 19, 2015, in a Europa League game against BSC Young Boys, he made his comeback from the Africa Cup of Nations absence by playing the final five minutes of the game after Romelu Lukaku, who had scored a hat trick, had been taken off. and, three days later, came off the bench to help Leicester City earn a 2-2 draw at home.
In the final five minutes of Everton's 3-0 home victory over Newcastle United on March 15, 2015, he came off the bench. Ross Barkley received the assist from him. Atsu was selected to start the second leg of an away Europa League Round of 16 match against Dynamo Kyiv on March 19 with regular right-winger Aaron Lennon cup-tied, with Everton leading 2-1 from the first leg. This decision was made as a result of Atsu's impact as a substitute in the aforementioned games. He was taken off the field in the 65th minute and that was his final first-team appearance for Everton. His team was eliminated after falling 5-2 on the night.
Loan to Bournemouth.
Atsu was loaned to newly promoted Premier League team Bournemouth on May 29, 2015, and club chief executive Neill Blake dubbed the arrangement "a huge coup." On August 25, he made his League Cup debut, starting in a 4-0 victory at Hartlepool United. Atsu only made one other appearance, which was in the subsequent round's victory at Preston North End. He did not make any league matchday squad appearances for Bournemouth, and on January 1, 2016, Chelsea called him back from his loan.
Lending to Malaga.
In an interview with the BBC World Service on January 24, 2016, Atsu discussed leaving Chelsea and his impending move to Levante. The following day, it was made official that he would be going to Málaga on loan rather. In a 3-0 victory over Getafe CF on February 5, 2016, Atsu made his starting eleven debut and scored.
Newcastle United.
Atsu signed a contract with Newcastle United on August 31, 2016, for a one-year loan with a buyout option. On September 13th, he made his club debut, replacing Yoan Gouffran in the 61st minute of a 6-0 away win against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, where he assisted Aleksandar Mitrovi to score their fifth goal. Atsu's first goal for the team came in a 1-0 victory over Rotherham United on October 1. He then scored against Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic.
Atsu left Chelsea in May 2017 and agreed to a four-year contract worth £62 million with Newcastle. At its conclusion, he was let go.
Al-Raed.
Atsu joined Al-Raed on July 17, 2021. He was only able to participate in eight games of the Saudi Professional League due to injury
Hatayspor.
On September 6, 2022, Atsu signed a one-year initial contract with a one-year option with Süper Lig club Hatayspor. The day before the earthquake that killed him, on February 5, 2023, he played three league games and one Turkish Cup match, scoring the game-winning goal against Kasmpa?a at home in the seventh minute of extra time.
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