Former Hearts of Oak striker, Charles Taylor, has offered advice to Daniel Afriyie Barnieh, urging him to reassess his position in order to avoid future setbacks in his career.
Taylor expressed concern that the FC Zurich forward could follow a similar path as Dominic Adiyiah, a former Black Satellite player who won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot at the U-20 World Cup in 2009 but failed to reach his full potential.
Barnieh, as captain, led the Black Satellites to victory in the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in 2021 and subsequently earned a call-up to the senior national team for the 2022 World Cup. However, he has recently faced criticism for his underwhelming performances, with the latest backlash coming after Ghana's win against Congo in the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
"He has lost focus on the field. If he doesn't get a good psychologist to psych him well he would even be worse than what we are seeing. You can just compare his previous performances to now, he could even be worse than Adiyiah," Taylor told Angel TV.
Taylor further emphasized the importance of addressing Barnieh's situation, pointing out his limited playing time since joining FC Zurich. He called for guidance on looking ahead and not dwelling on past achievements.
"Adiyiah's situation is even better. How many matches has Afriyie Barnieh managed to play since he switched to FC Zurich? Let's ask ourselves, what happened to him when he got to Zurich. He needs to be advised on focusing on moving forward and stop living on past glories. He is now starting which is why he needs to do more," he added.
During the U-23 AFCON match against Congo, the 22-year-old was substituted at halftime and replaced by Emmanuel Yeboah, who played a significant role in all three goals as Ghana secured a 3-2 victory.
