Sports
Reading manager Paul Ince delighted with priority signing Baba Rahman
Reading FC manager Paul Ince is delighted to have sealed a second loan move for priority signing Abdul Baba Rahman.
The 28-year-old Ghana superstar has completed a move back to Bearwood Park ahead of an impressive campaign spent as a Royal last season.
The talented Ghanaian international registered a total of 29 starts at left-back during our 150th anniversary campaign and made a crucial contribution in our fight for Championship survival last season.
During that campaign, he also represented his country to feature alongside Royals skipper Andy Yiadom in the Africa Cup of Nations – and he will be hoping another successful season as a Reading player ahead of this winter’s FIFA World Cup Finals in Qatar.
Manager Paul Ince said, ”A natural left-back with experience at the very highest level has been a clear priority in our recruitment plans this summer and, while we have had to be patient, we are now excited to welcome Baba back to the club! Our fans know all about what he can bring to this squad and what we are trying to achieve this season and I’m really looking forward to working with him again this season!”
Baba, who turned 28 last month, was born in Tamale in the north of Ghana and he won the Ghanian Premier League with Asante Kokoto in 2011-12 whilst still a teenager. He arrived in Europe in 2012, spending three seasons in Germany with Greuther Furth and Augsburg before a move to Stamford Bridge in 2015.
His Blues debut came in September of that year – in a 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Champions League – and his domestic bow followed a week later in a 4-1 victory at Walsall in the Capital One Cup.
Baba’s Premier League debut came the following month in a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa – starting in a team that featured the likes of John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.
Baba played in a total of 23 games under José Mourinho and then Guus Hiddink across Chelsea’s 2015-16 campaign before returning to Germany to join Schalke – where he would spend two and a half seasons on loan. In the 2016-17 campaign, he was part of a Schalke side which reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League – his first goal for the club proved the decider in a group-stage match against Nice.
A loan stint in France followed as Baba settled in Reims for the the second half of the 2018-19 campaign, finding the back of the net in the last of his 11 games for the Ligue 1 club in a 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
And after further loan spells away from Stamford Bridge – with Real Mallorca in La Liga in 2019-20 and then in Greece with PAOK the following season – he joined the Royals ranks last August.
Internationally, he has totted up 44 international caps for the Black Stars and will have his heart set on a seat on the plane to Doha where Ghana will take on Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay in Group H of this year’s World Cup Finals.
Kylian Mbappe of Paris St-Germain has been named the new captain of the France national team.
He takes over for Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who announced his retirement from international football in January.
On Tuesday, the French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed Deschamps’ selection of Mbappe as captain and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann as vice-captain via social media.
“Kylian meets all the requirements to have this responsibility,” France manager Didier Deschamps told French TV channel TF1 in an interview to be aired on Sunday.
“On the field as in the life of the group, by being a unifying element.”
On Tuesday, the French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed Deschamps’ selection of Mbappe as captain and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann as vice-captain via social media.
Mbappe was the top scorer at last year’s World Cup, helping France to a second consecutive World Cup final, which they lost to Argentina.
He scored two goals against Croatia in the 2018 final and was named the tournament’s best young player as France won the World Cup for the second time.
Deschamps’ team faces the Netherlands in their first Euro 2024 qualifier at the Stade de France on Friday, before facing the Republic of Ireland on Monday.
After being released from prison in Sweden earlier this month, Asante Kotoko winger Joseph Amoako has returned to the club.
Amoako, who was on loan at relegated Swedish Allsvenskan club Helsingborgs IF for the season, was reportedly found guilty of statutory rape of a minor in Sweden and sentenced to two years in prison.
After being charged with having sexual relations with a minor, the 20-year-old was detained in Swedish Police custody in November 2022 for a court trial.
Due to the rape allegations, Helsingborgs IF cancelled his loan deal before the contract with his parent club, Asante Kotoko, expired in January 2023.
The Helsingborgs District Court initially found the talented young winger guilty on two counts and sentenced him to 24 months in prison, but the charges were dropped after an appeal.
Amoako, who arrived in Ghana last week, paid a visit to his teammates on Wednesday morning at the Adako Jachie Training Complex in Kumasi.
After Kingsley Sarfo and Kwame Bonsu, he was the third Ghanaian footballer to be wrongfully imprisoned in Sweden on rape charges.
Amoako struggled for playing time at Helsingborgs IF, where he appeared in only ten (10) games — 295 minutes — across all competitions.
Asante Kotoko did not register him for this season, so he is ineligible to play for the Porcupine Warriors in the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League.
Chris Hughton, the new head coach of the Black Stars, will be introduced today in Kumasi at the SG Mall in Ayigya.
Following successful negotiations with the Sports Ministry and the Ghana Football Association, the 64-year-old who replaced Otto Addo has been in charge of the team since last month.
Hughton’s contract details and other pertinent information will be revealed at the unveiling.
Ghana will play Angola in a double header AFCON Qualifier at the Baba Yara Stadium on Thursday, March 23, 2023, before travelling to Luanda for the rematch on March 27.
Source: citinewsroom.com
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