This is Why Togbe Afede Trusts Akanbi and Odotei So Much : Hearts of Oak majority shareholder and board chairman Togbe Afede XIV cannot stop working with close allies Alhaji Brimah Akanbi and Vincent Odotei Sowah because the duo possess great transfer expertise that help the Phobians to recruit quality players at cheaper transfer fees.
This is according to Atalau Tahiru , who describes himself as the Chief Security Officer of Hearts of Oak.
“Today I will tell you why Togbe has so much trust in Akanbi and Odotei. They don’t allow Togbe to buy players at huge transfer fees. They know how to negotiate well. Sometimes Hearts of Oak supporters we talk too much. I myself I love Togbe so much because he loves the club. Togbe always want the betterment of the club.” , Atalau Tahiru told Kumasi-based Fox FM.
“Akanbi was the NCC chairman then a voting was done and Atuahene became the chairman. But what good work did Atuahene did to help the club. He did nothing good and he went out. Now Togbe says he likes Akanbi to be on the board and so what is the problem of people who are talking against him that he should leave Hearts of Oak”
“This is not the concern of the fans. Ours is to support the team. Can you tell me about the ten million fans of Hearts of Oak will not support the club just because of Akanbi and Odotei , just because of these two people. I don’t think so. Togbe likes them because they work hard for the club , they are good and honest people too. Look when a coach recommends a player for the club to buy , can Togbe Afede himself go around looking for those players , talk to the players. No”
“So Akanbi is the one Togbe Afede tasks to do all the necessary checks , talk to the targeted players and then the negotiations follow up.”
On the issue of Hearts of Oak signing players without a substantive head coach , Atalau responded as follows :
“It may be that Togbe has a secret recruitment team that no one knows. So after the season they recommend players to Togbe and then those players are bought if the club can afford. Look at this Eleven Wonders defender Osei Asibey Kelvin , when I and my boy Baki saw him play against Bofoakwa Tano in the play-off final in Accra , we realized he was a really good defender and we recommended him to the Hearts of Oak leaders and they followed him up and signed him.”
“So it is not that they are just doing recruitment like that without any consultations. They listen to reviews about the players, see their CVs before signing them. So these are the reasons why Togbe Afede likes Akanbi and Odotei so much. They make sure he gets quality players at cheaper fees”.
“Togbe do not impose players on coaches. When Junior Kaba and Yassan Ouatching came , Samuel Boadu was asked to assess them to see if they are good. He did that and said they are good and he likes them and they were signed. Nobody imposed any player on him”
Atalau also revealed the interesting manner in which Congo playmaker Linda Mtange came to Hearts of Oak.
“Do you know how Linda Mtange came to Hearts of Oak. I will tell you. We were in Kumasi for pre-season and at the front of Hotel , Linda came there and we did not know him at that time. Akanbi then called me that a player from Congo has come and so we should take him to Samuel Boadu for him to assess him. Boadu did not want to give him a trial and the Team manager said to Boadu to just assess him since the board brought him.”
“So when Linda started playing a friendly match for us against Asokwa Deportivo he impressed everyone. His touches and ball control were just lovely. Later we brought Otanga too. Are they not good players?” , he quizzed.
“Togbe was in Kumasi at that time and he said he has seen Linda and Otanga and that they are very good players. In fact Togbe told Boadu that if he assess them and they don’t impress him he should tell him for him to send them away. Are they not delivering? So I don’t understand why people keep on blaming Alhaji Akanbi and Odotei ” , he added.
The Phobians were nearly relegated from the 2022/23 Ghana Premier League and has so far signed two players for the upcoming season.
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