Former Ghana Striker Admits Difficulty in Replacing 'True Legend' Asamoah Gyan
- English-born Ghanaian forward Kwesi Appiah has admitted that the Black Stars will struggle to replace Asamoah Gyan
- The former Ghana international retired from football in 2023 after a legendary career which spanned close to two decades
- The Black Stars, who failed to qualify for AFCON 2025, return to action in March in the World Cu[ qualifiers
Former Black Stars forward Kwesi Appiah has disclosed that it will be difficult to replace legendary striker Asamoah Gyan.
The Black Stars have struggled to find a prolific scorer for the national team since Gyan resigned from football.
Gyan before announcing his retirement in 2023 had not played for the Black Stars since the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019.
Source: Getty Images
Appiah and Gyan, however, led Ghana's attack at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015 as the Black Stars finished the tournament as runners-up.
The Boreham Wood striker's Black Stars career was thwarted by injuries but left a huge impression on the team during his time with Ghana.
He told Flashscore:
“Gyan was always someone I admired from afar and I followed his career, as he was the star of our national team for many years. So to eventually be alongside him and partner him up front was a moment I will cherish forever. He’s a true legend and a great human being.
“It’s a very tough task to replace someone of his calibre and quality. That type of striker and character is not produced that often.”
Despite admitting it will be tough to replace Gyan, Appiah believes Kudus and Semenyo could make the difference for Ghana.
“At this moment in time you have a player like Kudus and potentially Semenyo who are playing really good for their clubs so we’d hope they can eventually have that type of level and consistency for Ghana to help lead the team to glory as Asamoah Gyan so often did.”
Black Stars eyes World Cup return
Following the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the Black Stars have switched their attention to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Source: Getty Images
The Ghana Football Association have beefed up the technical department of the Black Stars with the addition of Winfried Schaffer, an AFCON winner, to the team.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the technical team led by Otto Addo have made changes to the leadership of the Black Stars with Jordan Ayew set to take over as captain.
The Black Stars will host Chad in Accra and travel to Morocco to face Madagascar in the World Cup qualifiers next month.
Ghana are currently joint top of their World Cup qualifying group, alongside Comoros Island.
Kudus drops number 10 jersey
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Mohammed Kudus has reportedly decided to drop the number 10 jersey of the Black Stars ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers next month.
The West Ham United star used the jersey in Ghana's AFCON qualifying games against Sudan, Angola and Niger.
The jersey, which was previously worn by captain Andre Ayew, became vacant after Otto Addo refused to invited the Le Havre star for the AFCON qualifying games.
Source: YEN.com.gh
