Atsu is going to a be a great player - Dede Ayew

Black Stars midfielder Andre Dede Ayew believes Christian Atsu is going to be a great player following his man of the match performance in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Malawi.

Atsu, 20, wowed the crowd at the Accra Sports stadium with his dribbling skills down the right wing, eventually scoring the opening goal in the eighth minute after latching onto Andre Ayew’s shot-cum-pass in the six yard area.

The FC Porto player was only making his first full home debut after breaking into the team during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and was a constant threat to the Malawians who had to resort to rough play to control his moves.

In an interview with www.liquidsportsghana.com, Andre Dede Ayew said Christian Atsu has a lot of positives in his game and stands the chance to become a great player.

“He is a new young player coming to the squad. He has proven a lot of things. He is doing well. He needs to continue like that. Ghanaians shouldn’t put too much pressure on him but I believe that he is going to be a great player,” the Olympic Marseille midfielder said.

“He is going to help the nation. He needs to continue fighting the way he is doing. Well, he needs to continue also to improve in Europe.” Dede Ayew added that, “I believe he has the mental toughness because in football when everything is okay, we don’t know when it is going to be difficult. And I believe he has the mental strength to become a great player.”

Meanwhile, Andre Ayew, who was making a return to the national team after missing out on the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, sought to dispel the notion that he was not happy about his substitution in the game in the second half.

“We already spoke about that (the substitution) before the game that I would not play 90 minutes because I’m not 100% fit.”