Ghana chasing Brighton defender Tariq Lamptey

Ghana Football Association (GFA) Executive Council member George Amoakoh has revealed the football's governing body is holding talks with Brighton and Hove Albion defender Tariq Lamptey about a possible switch of international allegiance.

Born to Ghanaian parents in London, the 19-year-old has caught the attention of Ghana football officials with a streak of fine performances at club level, the most recent being an outstanding showing in Monday's Premier League clash between Brighton and Chelsea.

He currently plays for England at U20 level but remains eligible to feature for the Black Stars as he has not made a senior competitive appearance for The Three Lions.

“In fact when I was watching him [Lamptey] on TV, the first thing I did was to call a couple of people and it was clear that he will be a good player for our national team, the Black Stars,” Amoakoh told Nhyira FM.

“It is not going to be easy [to get him to switch international allegiance]. The national teams department is making serious efforts to get his parents and the boy to agree to play for Ghana.

“But it's not going to be easy. I don’t want to sound like its impossible, but it's not going to be easy.

“Most of the [Ghanaian] players born in Europe, if you want to entice them to come and play for Ghana, it is very difficult. They mostly aspire to play for their country of birth or host countries. Even their parents don’t opt for their children playing for Ghana."

Lamptey made his first team breakthrough at Chelsea last season before transferring to Brighton for the second part of last term due to limited playing opportunities at Stamford Bridge.

The right-back is not the only England youth star on the radar of Ghana national team officials as the West Africans are also making efforts to sway Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah to play for the country of his parents.

Black Stars coach CK Akonnor is also looking to similarly get the services of Anderlecht duo Francis Amuzu (Belgium) and Derrick Luckassen (Netherlands), Brian Brobbey of Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Gent's Elisha Owusu (France), Strasbourg defender Alexander Djiku (France) and Enock Kwateng of Bordeaux (France).