Enock Adu Kofi - Ghana's hidden Lampard

By Akyereko Frimpong Manson 

Follow Akyereko on Twitter: @AkyerekOfficial

Malmo FF midfielder Enock Adu Kofi reminds us of Frank Lampard's brilliance at Chelsea and England and Ghana must profit from it.

Though competition for a berth in Ghana's central midfield is tightest than in all other departments in the team but, there is a new dynamic and variation Enock Adu Kofi brings to the table.

The Malmo FF midfielder reminds us of how Frank Lampard's unique style won laurels for Chelsea and gilded England's Three Lions for over a decade.

Adu has been playing in the shadows of the England legend and now at Malmo FF he is even painting a more vivid colour, fast-copying and perfecting the Manchester City midfielder.

A call-up into Ghana's midfield is fast-becoming hard to come by, if further segmentation, the presence of top names in the central midfield role makes it before harder to impress the Black Stars' squad selectors.

Udinese's Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Parma midfielder Afriyie Acquah, Rabiu Mohammed, Kwadwo Asamoah, and South African-based Edwin Gyimah have all held down regular spots in the matrix of alteration that is gradually evolving around after the 2014 World Cup campaign.

Rabiu Mohammed for instance has caused many to quickly forget about the brilliant work-rate of Anthony Annan while Derek Boateng's makeshift perfections in holding midfield is no longer desirable.

Though Agyemang-Badu penchant to bombing into areas and hammering patent thunders has caused many to question his suitability for the role, the Udinese man can still play good on good days.

Afriyie Acquah has enjoyed limited playing time but he's dubbed the new Michael Essien -  an accolade bestow on him by the English press. It wouldn't just come as an accolade but it is a highlights of his level of quality and cherished reminder of how Essien lighted the English game.

Kwadwo Asamoah even played in the role in Ghana's last AFCON qualifier.

You could well say the spaces in there are gagged and even impossible knife your way through with the best of performances at club level.

But Adu Kofi's performance at Malmo FF is glistening and he deserves a chance. Adu has a touch of dynamism around his play and gives coaches the chance to afford variation. Since arriving at Malmo from Norwegian side Stabaek, Adu has constantly adapted and evolved his game within different tactical systems, without compromising his work rate and professionalism.

Adu’s two best traits are one; playing through balls in the channels and slicing open defences, like he is doing brilliantly for Markus Rosenberg. The other trait is that he is a brilliant technical footballer who can cross the ball superbly, but his all-round game as a so-called central midfielder, is richly close to Lampard’s.

Like the quality we saw in him during the 2007 FIFA U17 World Cup, Adu tracks back well, shores up well in the middle, destroys opposition attacking ploys through his intelligent play.

In the Uefa Champions League tie which saw Juventus pipped Malmo FF, Ghana midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah spoke high of Adu after his commanding display in midfield. He wowed everybody, including the Max Allegri - the Juventus manager.

Former USA and Egypt manager Bob Bradley was left reeling and mourning his departure to Malmo and since he left, the fine imprint he left on the club's campaign has been erased, leaving them to settle for mid-table place.

Though he has not scored goals like Lampard, Adu has won titles just like him. After arriving in Sweden in August, the former Liberty Professionals midfielder has commanding regular starting role at the club, playing almost everything single minutes of the domestic and European campaign -  and has won the Swedish Allsvenskan title.

At Nordsjælland, he won a double, the league title - in 2012 and the Danish FA Cup in 2011.

It wouldn't be a bad idea for stop-gap Ghana coach Maxwell Konadu to hand Adu a call-up and put to rest all the arguments about overlooking players getting the game minutes for habitual bench warmer at Sassuolo and below average Edwin Gyimah.

Game STATS in 2014: League Minutes: 2588, Number of Games Played:  30 Games (at both Stabaek and Malmo FF), Goals: 1, UEFA Champions League: 270 minutes in Group A games.