Newly signed Enyimba FC goalkeeper Fatau Dauda and Schalke 04 striker Bernard Tekpetey have been named in an 18-man Ghana squad expected to commence training in Accra on Wednesday for the 2017 Nations Cup to be held in Gabon.
AfricanFootball.com list published included three newcomers Bernard Tekpetey of Schalke 04, striker Raphael Dwamena of Austria Lustenau and AIK Stockholm star Ebenezer Ofori.
Captain Asamoah Gyan, West Ham United Andre Ayew, Christian Astu (Newcastle United), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City) Jordan Ayew (West Ham United) and Mubarak Wakaso (Panathinaikos) who are expected to be named in the final squad have been excluded from the first phase of the team’s preparations.
Dauda, who was Ghana’s first choice goalkeeper at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, makes a return after losing his place in the team despite not being impressive for some months.
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Baba Rahman, Harrison Afful, Afriyie Acquah have all been sighted in the list.
The team are expected to report for the training at the St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School training pitch from Wednesday till 31 December at 3:30 pm daily.
According to the GFA, the team will leave for a training tour on 02 January to UAE where they will train for 12 days before jetting to Gabon for the continental competition.
18 Black Stars call-ups to start training on Wednesday:
Goalkeepers:
Razak Braimah (Cordoba, Spain), Richard Ofori (Wa All Stars), Fatau Dauda (Enyimba, Nigeria).
Defenders:
Harrison Afful (Columbus Crew, USA), Baba Rahman (Schalke, Germany), John Boye (Sivasspor, Turkey), Jonathan Mensah (Anzhi, Russia), Edwin Gyimah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)
Midfielders:
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese, Italy), Afriyie Acquah (Torino, Italy), Ebenezer Ofori (AIK Stockholm, Sweden) Frank Acheampong (Anderlecht, Belgium), Samuel Tetteh (Leifering, Austria), David Accam (Chicago Fire, USA)
Forwards:
Abdul-Majeed Waris (Lorient, France), Ebenezer Assifuah (Sion, Switzerland), Bernard Tekpetey (Schalke 04, Germany), Raphael Dwamena (Austria Lustenau).