Black Stars head coach Charles Akonnor has hailed the performance of new defender Alexander Djiku.
The FC Strasbourg centre-back has been capped four times for the Ghana senior national team after making his debut in an international friendly against Mali in October.
Akonnor says the 26-year-old’s ability to adapt has been key to his positive performances so far.
“Djiku has been outstanding at the back and I’m happy that he has done so well,” he said of the French-born.
The 26-year-old enjoyed his first international games on the African continent when the Black Stars faced Sudan in back-to-back games in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying at Cape Coast and Omdurman respectively.
An impressed Akonnor said: “I was even surprised because of the heat.”
“This is someone who was born in Europe but you didn’t really see much of him struggling until he picked up the injury [in the visit to Sudan].”
Not only is Djiku a natural centre-back but also a defensive midfielder. He has already featured in both positions in his four Ghana caps.
Ghana beat Sudan 2-0 at Cape Coast but succumbed to a 1-0 defeat away Sudan in the November Afcon qualifiers. That delays the Black Stars qualification to the Cameroon tournament until the next round of qualifiers in March 2021.
