'Brave' Ghanaian winger Mathew Cudjoe will be a 'big part' of Dundee United's plans, says manager

Published on: 10 August 2022

Dundee United manager Jack Ross has praised 'brave' teenager Mathew Cudjoe and believes the Ghanaian winger will play an important role for the Tangerines this season.

On Sunday, the 18-year-old came off the bench to light up the hosts' otherwise drab performance against Livingston.

He made several daring bursts forward, was patient with his passing, and unleashed a couple of ferocious drives that came dangerously close to restoring parity.

The former Asante Kotoko player was, however, unable to prevent the Lions from winning 1-0.

Cudjoe is clearly in the senior picture at the Scottish club, having started United's Premiership opener against Kilmarnock before dropping out for last Thursday's Europa Conference League victory over AZ Alkmaar.

And Ross isn't shy about expressing his admiration for the ex-Bayern Munich trialist.

“I toyed with bringing Mathew on at half-time to give us a spark,” explained Ross. “We then brought him on quite early in the second half.

“He has been good in pre-season and deserved to start against Kilmarnock. He would have been on the pitch in different circumstances last Thursday against AZ, but didn’t get on because of how the game panned out.

“For an 18-year-old, he’s in a good place — he’s a big part of my plans because I like him.

“He was unfortunate not to score against Livingston. He’s brave in how he takes the ball and I like how his first thought is always to go forward and score a goal.

“He’s also brave in the sense that he’s small in stature — but he takes the knocks, bumps and bruises, and keeps coming back for more.

“He will continue to start games and be involved in games for us this season.”

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