From Cristiano Ronaldo to Luis Figo, from Nani to Rafael Leao, Ghana wonderkid Abdul Fatawu Issahaku ensured that he would be following in some rather gilded footsteps when putting pen to paper on a five-year deal with Sporting Lisbon in April.
The 2021 Portuguese champions have a proud tradition when it comes to developing young wingers. And 18-year-old Issahaku certainly shares the same raw potential and mouth-watering finesse as some of Sporting’s most iconic academy graduates.
“He has a great talent. Very fast, he shoots from very far out and from different areas of the pitch,” coach Ruben Amorim says of Issahaku, who has £50 million release clause in the contract he signed six months ago after making the move from Ghana to Lisbon.
“He can improve a lot. We count on him and it’s only up to him to (force his way into) the first team. We believe in him a lot. It took a lot of work to convince him (to sign), knowing that there were many clubs that wanted him. We have this advantage of the project; they know it’s up to them, young or not, to participate in the first-team.”
Everton and Liverpool like Sporting Lisbon wonderkid Issahaku Fatawu
According to Goal, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool both failed with ‘last-gasp’ attempts at securing Issahaku’s signature in April.
A maiden Champions League start during October’s group-stage clash with Marseille, then, felt like justification for the teenager’s decision to chose Sporting instead; Amorim handing Issahaku the sort of opportunities that would have been much harder to come by, for instance, at Anfield.
Liverpool are not giving up just yet though. Per O Jogo, Jurgen Klopp’s side continue to scout the eight-time Ghana international. Liverpool are likely to face competition from the other side of Stanley Park, however.
Everton are also watching Issahaku ‘very closely’. The Toffees scouted Issahaku during Sporting’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur a couple of weeks ago; a player dubbed ‘arguably the best African prospect of his generation’ by The Guardian coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes.
Can Everton succeed where Liverpool failed? Snatching a player of such exhilarating talent from under the noses of their local rivals would, at least, represent like some semblance of revenge after the Reds beat the Toffees to another Portugal-based whizzkid in Luis Diaz back in January, even if Issahaku remains relatively unproven at senior level.
“There are external factors conditioning a player’s adaptation; a new country, new club, new language, new culture,” Portuguese reporter Joao Castro tells JoySports.
“Sporting’s academy is one of the best in the world. We made Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and (Ricardo) Quaresma. So we are prepared to give the young players the best training system.”
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