Nigeria Premier League: Amankwei On Cloud 9

Ghanaian-born forward, James Amankwei, is living his dream in Nigeria, where he has become the most important player at relegation threatened Premier League side, JUTH FC

The forward told said his decision to come to Nigeria has boosted his career. Over the years, several Ghanaians have attained stardom in the Nigerian League.

The list includes Edward Ansah, Loetis Boateng, (who played for Nigeria), Ben Kluvi, Kwesi Bonsu and Arthur Moses amongst others. In recent times, former Heartland defender, Aziz Ansah, Dolphins’ Owusu Addae and Enyimba legend, Joetex Asamoah Frimpong have equally excelled in the league.

In fact, the duo of Moses and Frimpong emerged top scorers and debuted for Ghana’s Black Stars during their stint with Nigerian clubs.

Amankwei revealed that he is propelled by the success of Frimpong, who remains one of the most popular players in the country.

“I don’t know Joetex Frimpong, but his performance for Enyimba in the Nigerian league and the CAf Champions League is all that has motivated me so far. I’ve heard a lot about his goal-scoring feat, that’s why I work hard all the time.

“I know hard work will get me to my destination,” he told SuperSport.com.

Amankwei confessed that his career has blossomed since he grabbed the opportunity to play for JUTH. “I only played grassroots football in Ghana. My ambition was to travel to Malaysia, then an agent convinced me to play for JUTH in Nigeria.

“The truth is I have enjoyed my game in Nigeria and have no regrets at all. My game has improved both mentally and physically. Today, my performance in JUTH has earned me recognition back home in Ghana. I intend to spend sometime in Nigeria before going abroad,” Amankwei stated.

Amankwei is already a favourite of JUTH’s fans due to the number of goals he has scored for the team.

The forward has since wormed his way into the hearts of JUTH fans with quality goals and could become a legend like Frimpong. He has spent his career in Nigeria at the Jos based team where he once played with the NPL all-time scorer, Ahmed Musa, who is now a Nigerian International.

“I’m happy Ahmed made a huge impact in the Nigerian league. He was my partner in JUTH’s attack before he left for Kano Pillars. We had a great time together,” said the forward.

Amankwei is presently the top scorer at JUTH with five goals.

The Ghanaian said his goal at Sharks FC on match day one remains very special to him.

Amankwei is already a target of some of the top teams in the country.

Kano Pillars boss, Isa Ladan Bosso, has been a long time admirer of the forward since the early days of the present campaign when he was a coach of Niger Tornadoes. Bosso tried to lure him to Kano when he replaced Salisu Yusuf, but the deal wasn’t successful.

During the mid-season break, table-topping Dolphins launched another bid for the Ghanaian, but JUTH resisted all attempts to get their goal-machine out of Jos.

SuperSport.com understands that the Chief Medical Director of JUTH, Dr. Ishaya Pam, convinced the Ghanaian to ignore Dolphins’ advances.

However, there are strong indications that Dolphins will have their target at the end of this term.

“Amankwei knows his career will change once he accepts to move to the South. Dolphins will give him a chance to play in Africa,” a reliable Dolphins source said to SuperSport.com.

Although most Ghanaians support Ghana’s famous duo of Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko, Amankwei remains an avid follower of relegated Accra Great Olympics, one of the clubs based in the Ghanaian capital.

“I became a fan of Great Olympics through my dad who supported the team. The sad thing now is that Great Olympics have dropped to the lower division, but I still make out time to watch their matches whenever I’m in Accra” Amankwei told SuperSport.com.