The greatest football history in the 2015/2016 season had Ghanaian players abroad in the writing. Leicester City won the English Premier League after a remarkable display of talent, hard work and determination in the entire season.
The season started well for Ghanaian players abroad who made headlines in the transfer news. Andre Ayew’s transfer move from Olympique Marseille to Swansea City made the buzz as a host of clubs in Europe were battling for the signature of the Ghana international.
Abdul Baba Rahman’s move to Chelsea also had the attention from the media putting Ghana on the map of European football.
Jordan Ayew joined Aston Villa from French Ligue 1 side FC Lorient with Asamoah Gyan also making a big money move to the Chinese Super League.
Overall, the transfer window was kind to Ghanaian players abroad, setting up a perfect football season.
Fast forward from August 2015 to May 2016, the season has come to an end. The football has been played, goals have been scored, titles have been won and the ratings must be done.
Kickghana rate the best performing Ghanaian players for the 2015/2016 season.
Afriyie Acquah (Torino - Italy) - 10
Transfer move from Samdoria to Torino. 19 more games than he did get the previous season at Sampdoria. Two goals for Torino was good for a defensive midfielder.
Forget off the pitch incidents, Afriyie Acquah’s football season with Italian Serie A club Torino was a good one.
Alhassan Wakaso (Rio Ave - Portugal ) - 09
Alhassan Wakaso might not be in the headlines as players in England or Spain would but the Ghanaian midfielder deserves a mention when talking about good performing Ghanaian abroad.
The player had regular playing time for his Portuguese club Rio Ave making 30 appearances with 29 starts.
The Ghanaian helped his team have a good season. They however came one step short of making it to the UEFA Europa League after ending their season 6th on the Portuguese table.
Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa - England ) - 08
This is a tricky one. But relegation or not, Jordan Ayew was one of the best performing Ghanaians abroad for the 2015/2016 season.
The forward had a slow start to life in the English Premier League having already had some bust ups with officials at French club FC Lorient.
However, as the weeks went by, Jordan Ayew grew in confidence as an Aston Villa player despite all the troubles his team was going through.
From manager sacking to lukewarm attitude of players, Ghanaian player Jordan Ayew was the only shinning spot football pundits across the globe could point at.
Jordan Ayew scored seven goals, played 2353 minutes and in every bit of those ticking minutes, the Ghanaian gave his all for Aston Villa. Sometimes more. Ask Aaron Cresswell how that elbow felt.
Abdul Majeed Waris (FC Lorient - France ) - 07
But for some niggling injuries, Abdul Majeed Waris could have gone up one this list of best performing Ghanaian Players Abroad for the season.
At some point of the season, the only thought for the Black Stars forward was, was he ever gonna stop scoring?
He eventually did, sadly after an injury layoff.
However Abdul Majeed Waris’ season was not all bad. The Ghanaian player made 21 appearances, starting 20 of those games. The Black Stars forward scored 11 goals for his French club which was impressive considering he statistically scored a goal in every other game.
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese - Italy) - 06
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu scored four goals in the Italian Serie A league season but that is not the full story.
The work rate of the Ghanaian midfielder on the pitch was second to none for Udinese. The player silently did what he was supposed to do for the Italian Serie A club and to perfection.
Badu’s composure on the football pitch coupled with his organisational skills during his leadership roles as captain was a delight to watch.
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu grew into a decent and composed player for the 2015/2016 season and he needs plaudits for that.
Alfred Duncan (Sassuolo - Italy) - 05
Alfred Duncan had a good season with Sassuolo after his transfer from Sampdoria. The 23-year-old midfielder got a decent amount of playing time and he did deliver.
Duncan made 33 appearances out of the 38 in the Italian Serie A, starting 27 of those and coming on six times as a substitute.
The player scored once in the entire league season, but for his role of holding the Sassuolo midfield, Alfred Duncan excelled as a player.
Albert Adomah (Middlesbrough - England) - 04
The season for Albert Adomah started with a tussle for a transfer move away from Middlesbrough.
Once the transfer situation was settled, Adomah got into his stride and gave his best as the season before when his team came close to qualifying for the Premier League.
This time round, their quest for Premier League football was a success.
Albert Adomah player 3233 minutes for Middlebrough in the 2015//2016 season that saw them place second on the log to get promotion to the English Premier League.
The player scored six goals and was discipline on the football pitch with just one yellow card having started 36 league games and made 7 substitute appearances.
Albert Adomah had a successful season.
Frank Acheampong (Anderlecht - Belgium) - 03
Getting a call up from Avram Grant and actually playing meant Frank Acheampong was doing something right. He was with his Anderlecht club in Belgium.
26 appearances complimented by five goals and a good display in the UEFA Europa League saw Achemapong have a really good seaon.
The four goals scored in the UEFA Europa League put the Ghanaian on the international radar and a good transfer move could be on the cards for Acheampong.
Overall Frank Acheampong had a good season.
Andre Ayew (Swansea City - England) - 02
When the transfer deal to Swansea City from Olympique Marseille was announced, all that was left was a proof if Black Stars vice-captain Andre Ayew was worth the hype.
And oh yes he was!
Three games into the English Premier League season and Andre Ayew had literally smashed cliché ‘needing time to settle’ into pieces. A goal on his debut against the then Champions Chelsea, a goal on his home debut against Newcastle United and another fine performance against Sunderland at home meant the former Marseille player was already a hit in English top flight.
The good display of talent saw him become a subject of transfer interest in the January transfer window and rightly so.
Swansea City held on to their shining star and by the end of the season, Andre Ayew had rewarded them as the top scoring player at club. The Ghana international was also named the Best Newcomer of the Season at the club’s award ceremony.
Jeffrey Schlupp (Leicester City - England) - 01
Jeffrey Schlupp won the Young Player of the Season awards at Leicester City. For a championship winning side, that was some feat.
To get recognized in a team who had realistically no chance in winning the English Premier League, Schlupp had to play his part and he did.
The Ghanaian player started his season at the back of defence for Claudio Ranieri’s team. Despite not getting to the numbers of last season, Schlupp adapted for his team’s needs when they needed it most.
Jeffrey Schlupp came back from an injury layoff to play further up the pitch and he did deliver. His attacking role in midfield was complimented by his defensive mentality to produce some fine performances for Leicester City.
Schlupp won the English Premier League title. Schlupp was named the best young player for the Premier League Champions.
With 24 league appearances for the team who made history in every aspect of football for the season under consideration, Ghana international Jeffrey Schupp was the best Ghanaian Player Abroad for the 2015/2016 season.
