Germany-born Schlupp delighted over Ghana call-up

Published on: 09 November 2011

Leicester City striker Jeffery Schlupp has described his call-up to the full Ghana squad as "a dream come true".

The 18-year-old has already been called up to the German under-19 squad this season – the country of his birth – but the Hamburg-born teenager says he always hoped to play for Ghana, where his parents originally hail from.

Ghana face Sierra Leone on Saturday and Gabon on Tuesday, in preparation for their Africa Cup of Nations challenge in the New Year.

That means if Schlupp impresses, and makes it into their final squad for the tournament, he could be missing from City for almost a month.

John Pantsil, Schlupp's team-mate at City and an established Ghana player, has promised to look after him.

Schlupp said: "I chose to have theGhanaflag on the back of my shirt a while ago because I always hoped I would get the opportunity to play for them, so this is a dream come true.

"I told John Pantsil when he arrived that I wished one day to play for the Black Stars and he told me to keep my head down, keep working hard and see what happened. Now that it's happened, I'm absolutely delighted.

"It will be a different experience for me and another important step in my career so I'm determined to make the most of it. It will be a very different environment, but John has promised to look after me so I should be fine.

"It's an honour and a dream to have this opportunity. My mum and dad are buzzing as much as I am.

"It's important I make the most of the opportunity now. The next step has to be playing well if given the opportunity, carry on working hard to play for Leicester and then hopefully be involved in the Africa Cup of Nations."

Schlupp and Pantsil are two of eight City players away with their country.

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