During his first and second spells with Accra Hearts of Oak, the fans roared the name of Patrick Razak with unadulterated love. It wasn’t just his goals and assists that endeared him to the fans but his wizardly on the ball and loyalty to the club that made him a fan favourite.
The diminutive winger has been spotted training with the Phobians in recent days, eyeing a potential third stint with the club—pending a favourable assessment from the technical team. Despite securing a fifth-place finish this term, Abubakar Ouattara’s Hearts side often lacked the creative spark in the final third needed to consistently unlock opposition defences.
While their full-backs provided devastating attacking displays, the lack of threat in the Hearts midfield left Hearts in a difficult situation come an off day for the attackers. So, who could fill the gap? Well, they would need someone who scores goals and provides them for others, a player who could fit into Ouattara’s system and a tried and tested star who has an unadulterated love for the club and is loved by the supporters.
Tick, tick and tick
Patrick Razak could just be the man for the job. He has all the tools to make this Hearts side flourish. Possessing searing pace, sublime dribbling abilities and strength, he’s a huge proposition for any defender to handle in a 1v1 situation.
Indeed, being so adept in this regard has positive ramifications for his teammates too, for he regularly gets double or triple-teamed, which importantly creates space for teammates to utilise. His movement is another highlight of his, using this to surge in behind with superbly timed runs, find space or be instrumental in creating overloads.
He is the type of player Hearts want. He's a tricky winger who enjoys floating around to find space, and once he's got the ball at his feet, his first through is to run at his defender to try and make something happen. From that description alone, it’s clear why supporters of the club want him at the club.
In Razak, Hearts have found the kind of player they need. The winger, who prefers to be deployed on the right but is happy both left and centrally, has forged a reputation as a dangerous winger who is capable of beating his man with terrifying ease. He possesses terrifyingly quick feet and a low centre of gravity, which makes him an albatross on the neck of many a defender.
He also boasts a surprising physical strength for someone with a 5'8 frame. He is not going to bully his way past defenders, but defenders won't be able to bully him either. Once he makes it past his man, Razak's first instinct is to cross the ball. He enjoys firing the ball in low but is happy to send it in high if the situation calls for it, and he can do so with both feet, which makes him incredibly tricky to stop.
However, here is where you will find a common criticism of Razak. For somebody who finds himself in dangerous positions so often, his end product has been more than a little underwhelming at this point in his career.
He has an impressive mentality and work rate. Despite being an attack-minded winger, it is uncommon to see Razak tracking back to put in some work on the defensive end.
Without the ball, Ouattara places great emphasis on quick transitions to defence and an aggressive pressing scheme; offensively he prefers speed to elaboration in the build-up, and greater directness in his team’s passing and it requires an individual who is capable of mixing sound technique with high levels of endurance and an unquestioning desire to work. In all these respects, Patrick Razak fits the bill.
The current Hearts of Oak squad has left many supporters concerned, with the club failing to capitalise on a position of relative strength by making impactful additions. Yet, in Patrick Razak — a player they once knew well — the Phobians might just find the spark needed to reignite their charge toward gre
ater heights.
