Former assistant coach of the Black Stars, Ibrahim Tanko is pleading with Ghanaians to stop comparing young forward Felix Afena-Gyan to the legendary Asamoah Gyan.
Many have drawn comparisons between the two players, following Afena-Gyan's breakthrough campaign in Italy with AS Roma.
The 19-year-old burst onto the scene after scoring a brace for Roma against Genoa late last year and made his Black Stars debut against Nigeria as Ghana qualified for the World Cup.
However, Ibrahim Tanko believes comparing the teenager to Asamoah Gyan places a huge burden on him.
“It is not fair to compare to the two players. Afena Gyan is a young player who recently made his debut for Ghana, he didn’t even play for the junior national teams. He has a bright future but I will plead with Ghanaians to exercise patience for him,” he told Bryt FM.
“They should not start comparing him to Asamoah Gyan. Being compared to Gyan comes with a lot pressure because he is done a lot for the country and himself.”
Afena-Gyan has scored two goals in the Italian topflight in 16 appearances. He is part of the Roma team that has reached the semi-finals of the Conference League.