Ghana FA president links up with Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu

• Ghana FA President Kurt Okraku visited Mohammed Salisu with the aim of convincing him to play for the Black Stars
• The Southampton defender has rejected multiple approaches from the Ghana FA to represent the country of his birth
• But Mohammed Salisu has told Ghana FA President the reason why he doesn't want to play for Ghana

Ghana Football Association President Kurt Okraku paid a visit to Mohammed Salisu in his latest attempt to convince the Southampton defender to play for the Black Stars.

Salisu has rejected multiple approaches from the Ghana FA to represent the country of his birth, always insisting he is not ready.

In a video posted on Twitter, sighted by Sports Brief, GFA President Okraku was in hearty chat with Salisu in the Hausa language, amidst laughter.

In the 26 second video, Salisu seemed to suggest that Ghana football authorities are largely responsible for his non-committal attitude towards the team.

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The video started with Okraku telling Salisu;

“If you don’t play [for the Black Stars], will I be the one to play?” as both parties broke out in laughter.

A smiling Salisu then gave credence to rumours of his misgivings about football authorities due to an issue he encountered in his early days.

“The problem is, everything is done with you [referring to football authorities]. Without you, things don’t work. Hope you understand my point.

“As for players, they abound. But the issue [which makes players shy away from call-ups] lies with you [authorities],” he said.

Many attempts have been made to get Salisu Mohammed play for Ghana at the international level but none has been successful so far.

Salisu was first called up by former coach Kwasi Appiah for the start of the 2021 Afcon qualifiers in November 2019 but the then Real Valladolid player failed to turn up with a rib injury excuse.

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CK Akonnor took over from Kwasi Appiah as Black Stars head coach a couple of months later and was also not successful in his bid to have the player.

Salisu has been about the best performing Ghanaian player in Europe’s major top leagues with many a black Stars fan urging the GFA to do all things possible to further strengthen the national team’s squad with the player ahead of the Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup.

Mohammed Salisu Attributes Recent Slump in Form to Ramadan

Sports Brief earlier reported that Ghanaian centre-half Mohammed Salisu has attributed his recent dip in form to the annual fasting by Muslims, Ramadan.

The 23-year-old, one of the breakout players in the Premier League, has experienced a poor run of form which was highlighted by an own goal in Southampton's last league fixture.

Southampton boss Ralph Hassenhutl attributed Salisu's poor form to the transfer rumours linking him to other clubs in the Premier League.