In recent months, the name Christian Atsu has become synonymous with Ghanaian local fans.
At a tender age of 20, the FC Porto winger’s incredible ability to retain possession and produce deft silky artistry, is almost earning him a cult status.
However across the streets of Gothenburg and the entire Swedish football circles, there is a new name ringing around.
At just 18, Nasiru Mohammed’s talent is proving decisive for BK Hacken’s title hunt.
After bagging a hat-trick in 58 minutes from two games, club manager Peter Gerhardsson has described the 2010 Ghana U17 captain as the Swedish league’s Robin van Persie.
In an exclusive interview with Ghanasoccernet.com's Akyereko Frimpong Manson, the former Manchester City triallist speaks of his close link with God and learning from his ‘father’ Abdul Majeed Waris, the league’s top scorer.
You joined Hacken in two weeks and you have started scoring incredible goals. How do you feel about your form in the league?
I feel very great and happy for every performance and every goal I put at the back of the net. I hope to keep up my performance in the remaining games of the league.
Did you that you were going to put in such an incredible input for Hacken?
Yes because I always remain determined and focus on every game I play. And I know by God’s grace what my mum tells me before games, I will always score.
Has the presence of Majeed Waris played any role in your big success so far?
Of course he has been a bigger impact on me. He is always encouraging me to finish hard. He’s been here for close to two seasons now so he knows things I don’t know and he teaches me those things. He also understands the system better. The coach here has a lot of confidence in me and I think that also counts a lot in what I have been able to achieve so far. First he has to install trust in a youngster before throwing him into a big game and his bold decision to do this counts a lot.
Ooooh, it is all by God’s grace and consistent practice from training. I also watch a lot of tricks from great footballers. So I learnt that skill from them and improved on it at training.
After scoring thrice from two games, how many goals have you targeted scoring in the remaining nine games of the season?
You are getting a lot of media attention from the Swedish press in recent weeks, how are you taking this?
It is not easy talking to the press after every game but I always pray to God to find me something new to tell them.
You were initially offered a three-month loan contract but the club is eager to offer you a four-year-contract after the end of the season. How eager are you to sign for them?
I’m just praying to keep up my form and continue to impress in the rest of the games so that I will have the permanent deal at the end of the game.
You were in the Ghana U20 squad for the qualifiers before leaving for Sweden, are you eyeing a return to the team?
My focus now is on securing a permanent deal with Hacken but if they hand in an invitation, I can’t turn it down before Ghana is my country and I have captained a national team before.
Nasiru Mohammed, thank you for your time.
You are welcome.