Established in 2018, the EurAfrica Academy is a football academy based in Ghana that is committed to nurturing young players with a view to them moving into European clubs. The academy has become something of an important development hub for young Ghanaian players on their footballing journeys.

Serie A is a popular destination for players leaving the EurAfrica Academy, with the likes of Stephen Anorful joining Salernitana and Felix Afena-Gyan signing for Roma’s youth team in 2021 before moving to Cremonese the following year.

Additionally, Shadirac Chyreme Say also made a move to Europe, signing for Hungarian giants Ferencváros.

With the EurAfrica Academy increasingly demonstrating its prowess at developing young talents and bridging the gap between African and European football, we decided to showcase some of the players at the club.

This tactical analysis will take the form of a scout report where we look into three players currently at the EurAfrica Academy. We will assess what each player brings to the team’s tactics and what makes him a unique prospect.

Sulleyman Mohammed

The first player we are going to look at in this analysis is a 17-year-old midfielder, Sulleyman Mohammed. A highly progressive player who can play as a central midfielder or further forward in the number ten role, Mohammed has put in some impressive performances recently, which caught our attention.

Mohammed is very adept at carrying the ball forward and linking up with his teammates via quick one-twos or intricate passing sequences. We can see here how he picks the ball up and makes a progressive run forward. He plays the ball into the path of his teammate, who gives it back to Mohammed when he reaches the edge of the area, from where he hits a powerful drive at goal.

His ability to progress with the ball from the midfield provides a dynamic offensive dimension. By breaking through opposing defensive lines, Mohammed creates openings where he can thread, passes through to teammates. This is apparent in his 1.56 key passes per 90.

Alternatively, as we see in this example, he can take shots on himself. The 17-year-old averages 1.40 shots per 90, although it has to be said that he does like to shoot from distance, even when there are better options available to him.

In build-up play, when playing as a central midfielder, Mohammed will typically look to drop further back, allowing the fullbacks to push up a little higher. We can see in this example that by dropping back, Mohammed drags the opposition out of their defensive structure and consequently creates space in the centre of the pitch that he or a teammate can exploit.

On this occasion, he then uses his close control and agility to carry the ball beyond his opponent into the space ahead. Mohammed is very astute, no matter if he is building up from the back or operating higher up the pitch in the attacking third. He frequently puts his progressive runs to excellent use for EurAfrica.

Moreover, Mohammed has the ability to fit perfectly into a high-pressing team in the future. He has rapid acceleration, which he uses to initiate a counterpress when he or his team loses possession.

In this instance, he sees his teammate’s pass being intercepted and springs into action, closing down his opponent and regaining possession. As a result of his pressing abilities, Mohammed averages 7.1 ball recoveries per 90.

Mohammed limits the opposition’s time and space to transition from defence to attack by pressuring the ball carrier immediately after losing possession. This is what leads to turnovers in advantageous areas, preventing the opposition from establishing a rhythm and forcing mistakes.

This also places EurAfrica Academy in a favourable position to launch quick and direct counterattacks. Sullyman Mohammed contributes to this via his ability to win the ball back in advanced positions, which can lead to goalscoring opportunities within seconds of regaining possession.

Basit Mutakilu

The next player in this analysis is young defender Basit Mutakilu. Born in June 2009, the 14-year-old has excelled in recent games, playing for EurAfrica Under 19s. Mutakilu is typically a central defender; his 184 cm and athletic frame means he is already strong in the physical duels.

However, he has recently found himself deployed as a right-back due to his speed and on-the-ball abilities. Additionally, analysing his style of play, it is possible that he would be able to play as a defensive midfielder in the future, combining his playmaking ability and his physical presence.

When playing as a right-back, Mutakilu loves to get forward as often as possible. The youngster does appear to thrive in the freedom this position provides him in an attacking sense.

We can see in this example that he is used as a passing outlet on the right side as he gets forward. Consequently, Mutakilu often finds himself with the opportunity to play a cross into the box. The young defender averages 1.89 crosses per 90, with 0.63 per 90 reaching their target.

Moreover, Mutakilu does not just fly down the wing from right back; he charges into central areas, using his physical presence to ensure the opposition cannot get near the ball. In this instance, we can see how he uses his athleticism and speed to carry the ball from into a more central area.

When carrying the ball forward, he can display a heavy touch on occasion, which provides the opponent with the opportunity to regain possession. When this does happen, Mutakilu will look to engage in shoulder-to-shoulder duels to prevent the opponent from being able to dribble past him.

This can mostly be put down to his youthfulness; at such a young age, it is not too surprising to see him overrun the ball on occasions. What is nice to see is that upon losing possession, Mutakuli shows willingness and desire to put his opponent under pressure to try and win it back instantly.

When defending, Mutakilu can look a little awkward but, for the most part, does what is expected of him. In this scenario, the opposition plays a long ball forward, looking for the attacker in the wide area. His body positioning is not the best as he ends up being quite square on to his opponent.

However, he realises this to his credit and uses his physical strength to hold off the attacking player and ensure he cannot reach the ball. Mutakilu then ensures he gets a foot on the ball and makes an important clearance.

The young defender’s strength plays an important role in the defensive aspect of his game as he averages 2.8 tackles per 90, winning 1.41 per 90. Whilst a little more tactical intelligence would be of benefit to him in terms of his positioning, he has plenty of time to improve in this area.

Boaz Nii Kabu Otu-Okunor

The third player we are going to look at in this scout report is 15-year-old winger Boaz Nii Kabu Otu-Okunor. Although he has been limited to appearances from the bench, the young winger has looked lively when given the opportunity and shows a lot of his personality with his performances.

The 15-year-old is not short of confidence; his self-belief shines through in his performances. Otu-Okunor typically plays on the left, allowing him to cut in onto his favoured right foot.

The example above is a good way of showing how confident the young player really is and also allows us to demonstrate where he could have perhaps made a better decision.

A long pass is played over the top, and he runs onto it and picks up possession. He cuts inside onto his right foot and executes a powerful shot from a very difficult angle. Whilst the shot does test the goalkeeper, a better option would have been to play a pass for his teammate (who we have highlighted) to hit a first-time shot from the edge of the area.

The youngster averages 2.2 shots per 90 with 1.27 on target per 90, so he does have an eye for a shot and certainly provides a potential goal-scoring threat when he gets on the pitch.

Furthermore, Otu-Okunor demonstrates some wonderful abilities to quickly track back and regain possession, averaging 5.4 recoveries per 90. Standing at 172 cm, he is one of the shortest players on the pitch but this does not faze him. He frequently uses his small, agile frame to his advantage when looking to regain possession high up the pitch.

In this instance, the 15-year-old winger quickly closes down his opponent and gets his body between the player and the ball. This allows him to recover possession and prevents the opposition player from being able to win it back again.

Otu-Okunor then carries the ball forward; he is very dangerous with open space ahead of him due to his speed and close control, which makes it very difficult for back-tracking opponents to track him.

Once he reaches the penalty area, he plays a low, driven cross into the path of his teammate, who turns it goalward. The dynamic winger averages 0.64 assists per 90 and 1.19 crosses per 90 indicating he is capable of creative goal-scoring opportunities frequently.

His 71% pass accuracy places him at the lower end of the rankings within his team, but it is worth noting that Otu-Okunor does try to play more dangerous passes than most, so there is always a higher risk attached.

Overall, he looks like he could be an excellent talent in the future and will continue to improve with more first-team exposure.

Dennis Assan

The final player we are going to look at is 17-year-old Dennis Assan. He is a left-footed attacking player who can be deployed anywhere along the front line and has put in some very good performances recently.

Assan frequently gets into good goalscoring positions, mostly by making runs to the edge of the area from the right wing. In this example, we can see him just waiting for the ball to be played into him by his teammate.

In this instance, when he receives the pass, aware of the opponent putting him under pressure, Assan calmly lets the ball run across him to strike it with his slightly weaker right foot.

The EurAfrica forward averages 2.3 shots per 90 with 1.31 on target per 90. He shows good decision-making in the final third and is more than happy to shoot with either foot, as opponents generally try to prevent him from using his left foot when possible.

In keeping with EurAfrica’s style of play, Assan looks to press the opposition, using his physical strength to prevent them from building attacks and regaining possession in the most optimal areas on the pitch. Here, Assan reads the game well, observing where the opponent will play the ball and immediately puts him under a significant amount of pressure.

The relentless pressure forces the opposing midfielder into struggling to control the ball and causes him to take a poor touch. This results in Assan being able to recover possession, putting his team in a favourable position to capitalise on this error. As a result of his tenacious nature and work ethic, Dennis Assan averages 5.6 recoveries per 90 which prove integral to EurAfrica’s counterattacking successes.

Upon regaining possession, Assan immediately looks to get forward and uses his acceleration to avoid the two opposition players trying to tackle him. The 17-year-old gets his head up, sees his opponent has space to run into, and so plays a pass for him to run onto.

Moreover, Assan’s pressing not only aids in regaining possession but also facilitates EurAfrica’s quick transitions from defence to attack. By winning the ball quickly and effectively, he provides his teammates with the opportunity to exploit the disorganisation of the opposing defence, leading to swift counter-attacks and, therefore, increased goal-scoring opportunities.

Assan’s ability to use both feet is one of his best attacking assets, as it allows him to completely confuse defenders, as they simply do not know which way he is going to go. He loves to run at his opponent in 1v1 situations, as we can see here, often forcing the player into suboptimal body positioning, meaning Assan has the option to use his left or right foot.

In this scenario, the EurAfrica man automatically has an attacking advantage as the opposition defender is too square on to him, and there it is easier for Assan to beat him in the 1v1. On this occasion, he opts to go onto his right foot and plays a low, driven cross into the penalty area.

The young winger is a superb playmaker for his team, averaging 2.9 crosses per 90 and 1.55 key passes per 90. At just 17 years of age, Assan certainly has the potential to follow the EurAfrica pathway to European football.

Conclusion

In this scout report, we have highlighted four players currently at the EurAfrica Academy and shown why we think they are the ones to watch.

There have been many Ghanaian players who have made a huge impact in Europe, such as Michael Essien at Lyon, Chelsea and Real Madrid and Sammy Kuffor, who spent 12 years at Bayern Munich.

The EurAfrica Academy is developing some wonderfully talent players who appear to be well-suited to pressing systems, and with clear pathways to Europe, it won’t be long before we see some of them being linked with potential transfers.