African players could be in higher demand after Covid-19

Ghanaian football agent Oliver Arthur has suggested that African players could be in higher demand once competition resumes worldwide.

Arthur says that the finances of big European clubs will be badly affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and could go in search of more ‘affordable’ African players.

“A lot of clubs might be even filing for bankruptcy and those who don’t file and try to survive the market will look at players they can get as a free agent, players they can at lower prices and coming to Africa,” Arthur was quoted as saying on ghanaweb.com.

“If we position ourselves, it can be a breakthrough for us that we can sell a lot of players because our market value is low. Our price tags are low when we are doing the first move and the quality is there so clubs in this situation might look at Africa.”

The next big star could still be waiting in the wings as African players already feature prominently in European leagues, most notably with Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Egyptian Mohamed Salah the core of Liverpool’s English Premier League title-chasing powerhouse team.

Mane was crowned African Player of the Year at the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Awards held at the Albatros Citadel Sahl Hasheesh Resort in Hurghada, Egypt, in January.
Mane won 477 votes ahead of Salah with 325 votes and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez with 267 votes.
Mane said: “I’m very happy and proud to win this award. I thank my teammates at the Senegal national team and also my club, Liverpool for their support.”

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo