Swiss giants, FC Basel have reportedly expressed interest in Hearts of Oak talisman Daniel Afriyie Barnieh.[ads2]
The 21-year old attacking midfielder has emerged as a top target for the Basel based club after an incredible showdown for Ghana against Switzerland in a pre-World Cup friendly on November 17.
Kyfilla.com understands that scouts of the Swiss club who were at the stadium were impressed with the performance of Afriyie Barnieh for Ghana against Switzerland at the ZSC Stadium in Abu Dhabi where he lasted sixty minutes.
It is believed that negotiations have commenced between FC Basel and the representatives of Afriyie Barnieh who could join the club as a free agent should he failed to renew his contract with Hearts of Oak after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[ads3]
The former Ghana U20 captain has been an integral member of the Hearts of Oak squad and played a pivotal role when the team won the Ghana Premier league last two seasons.
He was included in the Ghana final squad for the World Cup following his exploits with not only Hearts of Oak but the Black Meteors and Black Galaxies.
Barnieh received a call up into Ghana national U-23 preliminary squad ahead of the 2019 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, though he put on an impressive showdown,he missed out on the final squad.
In August 2020, he was named on the Ghana national U-20 preliminary squad for the 2020 WAFU Zone B U-20 Tournament, which also served as the qualifiers for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.
READ ALSO:2022 World Cup: Daniel Afriyie Barnieh makes Ghana’s final squad
He made the final squad and was appointed as the captain of the side. He led Ghana to win the trophy and qualify for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations. In the final, he inspired the team by scoring the equalizer via a free-kick from Percious Boah in the 21st minute to trigger a comeback over their neighbours Burkina Faso in the final.[ads4]
Barnieh made the squad for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations and again led Ghana to win the tournament for the first time in 12years, since winning in 2009, where he scored a brace, one in each half to lead Ghana to a 2–0 victory and emerge as the African U-20 Champions for the 4th time in the country’s history.
The game coincided with Ghana’s 64th Independence Day celebration which drew in more excitement after the victory. Afriyie was ultimately adjudged the man of the match of the final.
On 3 August 2021, after an impressive season with Hearts of Oak, Afriyie received his debut call up to the Black Galaxies (Local Black Stars) under the management of Annor Walker for a camping exercise ahead of their upcoming international assignments including 2022 CHAN qualifiers and 2021 WAFU Cup of Nations.
A week later, under the management of C.K. Akunnor, Afriyie was handed his first call-up into the Ghana senior team, the Black Stars, ahead of Ghana’s 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup Group G qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa. He was one of the five home-based players to make the squad.[ads5]
