When the owner of Young Apostles FC arrived in Duayaw Nkwanta to scout for young players for his team about six years ago, little did he know a young Emmanuel Yeboah would be his first sale in 2022.
Born in Duayaw-Nkwanta, a popular town in the Ahafo Region, Emmanuel was poached by the Sunyani-based club during his time at Duayaw Nkwanta SHS. ‘’He put in a shift when he was in school to play for Apostles, he would go and play soccer on Sunday and by Monday, he’ll be in school,’’ says a source who was close to the player at the time.
He left Nkwanta to settle in Sunyani after high school in a bid to finally secure a career in football. It was therefore surprising that before the start of the 2021/22 football season, Yeboah’s agent and uncle invaded his team to take their progeny away back to Duayaw Nkwanta.
His family wasn’t convinced the club was going to provide many opportunities for Yeboah to travel abroad any time soon. It took the intervention of some Young Apostle’s executives to convince Yeboah back to his club.
‘’We’ve really struggled with Yeboah,’’ says a proud Ampaabeng Kyeremeh, the Communications Director of the club. ‘’ We had to gather some men from Nkwanta to put pressure on the family to release the young boy.’’ Emmanuel Yeboah returned and started pre-season with the club.
For a young man who had divided attention prior to the start of the season, he didn’t let matters outside the pitch eat much into his head. ‘’He has been superb this season, we lost a few senior strikers and it was time to give the fringe players an opportunity. Yeboah took it with both hands!,’’ Ampaabeng exclaimed.
Having played 13 league games for his side this season, Emmanuel neared 1 goal every 2 games as he put 7 goals past the Division 1 League goalkeepers.
Emmanuel has scored in every game he has played in for Young Apostle in the FA Cup this season, including one against Berekum Arsenal.
That’s not all. The striker had 4 assists for his team, winning 5 men of the match awards in league games. Additionally, 3 MOTM awards meant he was the best player in every game he played in the FA Cup this season.
They have #99problems😂😂 but we have #99ideas in-striking and that is in the person of @Yeboah99ideas ✅✅❤️✊ STATS don’t lie ✍️✍️. #HappyNewWeek to all #Apostorians ❤️✊ @ghanafaofficial @DivisionOneGH @AnimSammy @AshfoamGhana pic.twitter.com/HFWMf58AX3
— YOUNG APOSTLES FC (@Youngapostlesfc) February 28, 2022
People who have watched a significant amount of matches for Apostles describe Emmanuel as a lad whose hold-up play was superior to his peers, movement in and around the box was likened to that of Edinson Cavani’s and had a real eye for goal.
He takes inspiration from Polish striker Robert Lewandowski and former Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan. Emmanuel also once made his intentions of playing for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich clear while in Sunyani.
It’s important to note that before the move to Cruz, Ghanaian giants Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko both had him on their lists of transfer targets.
He also caught the eye of people at Medeama and Dreams FC. Arthur Legacy, a football consulting firm with the aim of creating diaspora opportunities for Ghanaian players brokered the deal when it was made known to them CFR Cluj was considering 4 other players from different African countries to fill a spot in their team. The same firm ensured that Felix Afena Gyan left Eurovision Academy for AS Roma last year.
The 19-year-old had been in Nigeria for some time to seek a visa to Romania. When he arrived at Cruz, he was given a week to train in order for the Romanian side to assess him but was cleared to do a medical and take photo shoots regarding a club announcement right after a training session.
He’ll join the U23 side to train at the moment in order for further assessments to take place before an inevitable first-team appearance. Emmanuel was destined to go higher, his family only had to wait.
Story by: Sheriff Alidu
