Joseph Esso departure: Hearts of Oak management incompetent - Kobby Jones

Accra Hearts of Oak National Chapters Committee spokesperson, Kobby Jones has slammed the club’s management over the exit of their top striker, Joseph Esso.

According to Kobby Jones, the management led by Chief Executive Officer, Frederick Moore is incompetent. This is after an attempt by the club to resign the player collapsed.

Hearts of Oak confirmed the departure of Esso along with four others early this month. But fans expressed their displeasure with Esso as they view him as a key member to the squad.

The pressure from fans forced management to engage the player over a return. However, the move collapsed after the player failed to meet the ‘public apology’ requirement by the management.

The management believes the player disrespected the club by refusing a contract extension because they could not meet his demands.

"Personally Joseph Esso cannot be blamed for his exit from the club, neither can we blame the board chairman on this issue, rather we must blame the management.

"It was never the wish of the player to go for his release letter at our secretariat since there was an upcoming meeting between the player and management, he had a call from the MD to that effect.

"Hearts of Oak must get a sporting director to take care of player transfers for us and allow Frederick Moore to concentrate on the business aspect.

Esso joined Hearts from Ebusua Dwarfs in 2018. He played 14 games and netted on three occasions before the 2019-20 season was cancelled.

He was among Ghana's best players at the 2019 Wafu Cup of Nations in Senegal where he netted twice to help the side finish as runners-up.

After his good showing at the cup tournament, the attacker was heavily linked to Sudanese side Al-Hilal last December.