Christian Atsu

Christian Atsu

Atsu playing for Ghana in March 2015
Personal information
Full name Christian Atsu Twasam[1]
Date of birth (1992-01-10) 10 January 1992
Place of birth Ada Foah, Ghana
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Málaga
(on loan from Chelsea)
Number 11
Youth career
0000–2009 Feyenoord Fetteh
2009–2011 Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2011–2013 Porto 17 (1)
2011–2012 → Rio Ave (loan) 27 (6)
2013– Chelsea 0 (0)
2013–2014 → Vitesse (loan) 28 (5)
2014–2015 → Everton (loan) 5 (0)
2015–2016 → Bournemouth (loan) 2 (0)
2016– → Málaga (loan) 10 (1)
National team‡
2012– Ghana 42 (9)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 May 2016 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:57, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

Christian Atsu Twasam (born 10 January 1992) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Málaga on loan from Chelsea, and the Ghanaian national team. He primarily plays as a winger, although he has also been deployed as an attacking midfielder.

He began his career with Porto, also spending a season on loan at Rio Ave. In 2013 he was signed by Chelsea for £3.5 million, who have loaned him to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, Bournemouth and Málaga.

A full international with over 30 caps since his debut in 2012, Atsu has represented Ghana at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He helped the team finish as runners-up at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, in which he also won Player of the Tournament and Goal of the Tournament.

Club career

Atsu was born in Ada Foah, Greater Accra Region.[3]

Porto

Atsu arrived at Porto at the age of 17, finishing his football formation with the club. On 14 May 2011, he was called by first-team manager André Villas-Boas for a top division match against Marítimo, but eventually did not leave the bench in a 2–0 away win.

As with teammate Kelvin, Atsu was sent on loan to fellow league side Rio Ave for the 2011–12 season. He made his debut in the competition on 28 August 2011, in a 0–1 home loss against Olhanense. On 16 December 2011, Atsu opened the score at Estádio da Luz against Benfica in the 24th minute, but the hosts eventually won it 5–1.[4]

He returned to Porto for the 2012–13 campaign, starting in nine of his league appearances as the northerners won the national championship for the third consecutive time.

Chelsea

On 1 September 2013 Atsu agreed to join Chelsea on a five-year contract, for a reported £3.5 million, being immediately loaned to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, for the rest of the 2013–14 season.[5]

Loan to Vitesse

On 6 October 2013, Atsu made his debut against Feyenoord as a substitute, replacing Kazaishvili in the 77th minute. He went on to providing an assist to Mike Havenaar, but it was not enough to prevent a 2–1 loss for Vitesse.[6] On 19 October, Atsu made his first start against SC Heerenveen, which ended in a 3–2 win for Vitesse.[7] On 9 November, he converted a penalty for his first goal with Vitesse, against FC Utrecht; the match ended in a 3-1 win for Vitesse.[8]

In total, Atsu played 30 games and scored 5 goals for the Dutch side as they finished 6th in the league and qualified to the play offs.

Loan to Everton

Atsu (left) playing for Everton in the Europa League match against Dynamo Kyiv on 19 March 2015

On 13 August 2014, Atsu joined fellow Premier League club Everton on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season.[9] He made his first appearance for the club 10 days later, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Kevin Mirallas in a 2–2 draw with Arsenal at Goodison Park.[10]

On 21 September 2014, Atsu made his first start in the league against Crystal Palace, which ended in a 2–3 home loss.[11] After his absence due to the Africa Cup of Nations, Atsu returned to Everton's lineup on 19 February 2015 in a Europa League match against BSC Young Boys, playing out the last five minutes after replacing hat-trick scorer Romelu Lukaku.[12] and came off the bench three days later to set up a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw at home to Leicester City.[13] On 15 March 2015, in the match against Newcastle United, he came off the bench with 5 minutes remaining, and provided another an assist to fellow substitute Ross Barkley for Everton's third goal of a 3–0 home victory.[14] Following Atsu's impact as a substitute in the above games, he was picked to start the second leg of a Europa League Round of 16 match away to Dynamo Kyiv on 19 March, with Everton leading 2–1 from the first leg. His team were eliminated after losing 5–2 on the night, he was withdrawn in the 65th minute,[15] and that was his final first-team appearance for Everton.[16]

Loan to Bournemouth

On 29 May 2015, Atsu was loaned to newly promoted Premier League team Bournemouth for the upcoming season, with club Chief Executive Neill Blake calling the deal "a huge coup".[17] He made his debut on 25 August in the second round of the League Cup, starting in a 4–0 win at Hartlepool United. Atsu's only other appearance was in the next round's victory at Preston North End; he did not feature in any Bournemouth matchday squad in the league and he was recalled from his loan by Chelsea on 1 January 2016.[18]

Loan to Málaga

On 24 January 2016, Atsu gave an interview with the BBC World Service in which he spoke about leaving Chelsea and his imminent transfer to Levante.[19] The next day, it was confirmed that he would be instead moving to Málaga on loan.[20]

International career

Atsu on the ball in a friendly against Mali in Paris in March 2015

Atsu won his first senior cap for Ghana on 1 June 2012 against Lesotho, scoring in the process.[21] He was described by the BBC as an "excellent prospect",[22] whilst ESPN added he was "quick and technically impressive", and a potential future star for his national team.[23]

The following year, he was in the Ghanaian squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. He started the first match, a 2–2 draw against the DR Congo, and was a substitute in the following 1–0 win over Mali. He returned to the starting line-up in the last group match against Niger in Port Elizabeth, scoring the second goal of a 3–0 win which put his country into the quarter-finals as group winners.[24] Atsu featured in the rest of Ghana's matches as they came fourth, scoring in their penalty shootout elimination by Burkina Faso.[25]

Atsu was selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad,[26] starting in all the matches as Ghana were eliminated in the group stage.

At the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Atsu scored twice in a 3–0 win over Guinea in the quarter-finals.[27] He helped the team to the final, where they lost in a penalty shootout against the Ivory Coast. At the end of the tournament, he was awarded with both the Player of the Tournament award, as well as the Goal of the Tournament award for his strike against Guinea.[28]

Honours

Club

Porto

Individual

Statistics

Club

As of match played 2 May 2016.[29]

Club Season League Cup[nb 1] League Cup Europe[nb 2] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rio Ave 2011–12 2761020––306
Total 2762020––306
Porto 2012–13 171301080291
Total 171201080291
Vitesse (loan) 2013–14 28520––––305
Everton (loan) 2014–15 50001070130
Bournemouth (loan) 2015–16 0000200020
Málaga (loan) 2015–16 101000000101
Career total 8713605015011313

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes Taça de Portugal with Rio Ave; Taça de Portugal and Super Cup with Porto; KNVB Beker with Vitesse
  2. ↑ Includes UEFA Champions League with Porto; UEFA Europa League with Everton

References

  1. ↑ "Player shirt numbers for 20 Barclays Premier League clubs released". Premier League. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Player Profile Christian Atsu". web page. Premier League. 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "Christian Atsu – The newest Black Star". Ghana Web. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Benfica cruise past Rio Ave". PortuGOAL. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  5. ↑ "Christian Atsu: Chelsea sign Porto striker on five-year deal". BBC Sport. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "Vitesse 1-2 Feyenoord". Soccerway. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Vitesse 1-2 Feyenoord". Soccerway. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Vitesse 3-1 Utercht". Soccerway. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Atsu Deal Complete". Everton. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  10. ↑ Bevan, Chris (23 August 2014). "Everton 2-2 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Everton 2-3 Crystal Palace". Soccerway. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "Romelu Lukaku responded to recent fan criticism with a first Everton hat-trick in a fine Europa League round of 32 first-leg win over Young Boys". BBC Sports. 19 February 2015.
  13. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31475995
  14. ↑ "Everton 3 Newcastle 0: McCarthy, Lukaku and Barkley ease Toffees' relegation fears". Daily Star. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  15. ↑ Reddy, Luke (19 March 2015). "Dynamo Kiev 5–2 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Games played by Christian Atsu in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Christian Atsu: Chelsea winger joins AFC Bournemouth on loan". BBC Sport. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "Chelsea recall Christian Atsu from loan and put him in first-team". Metro. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "Christian Atsu on his Levante transfer". BBC World Service. 24 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  20. ↑ "Christian Atsu leaves Chelsea for Malaga on loan". Sky Sports. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Atsu makes debut statement". Ghana Web. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  22. ↑ Michael Oti Adjei (12 September 2012). "Ghana hails exciting new talent". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  23. ↑ Atkins, Christopher (12 June 2013). "World Cup 2014: Ten potential breakout stars". ESPN FC. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  24. ↑ Hughes, Ian (28 January 2013). "Ghana 3-0 Niger". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  25. ↑ Hughes, Ian (6 February 2015). "Burkina Faso 1-1 Ghana". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  26. ↑ "Ghana World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  27. ↑ Hughes, Ian (1 February 2015). "Ghana 3-0 Guinea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  28. ↑ Jones, Neil (9 February 2015). "Everton FC's Christian Atsu named AFCON Player of the Tournament". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  29. ↑ "Christian Atsu". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

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