"He Needs to Improve a Lot": Cremonese Manager on Ghana Striker Afena Gyan

• Cremonese coach Davide Ballardini wants Felix Afena-Gyan to improve
• The Ghanaian international has not scored for his side in Serie A so far
• Afena-Gyan joined the relegation-threatened Cremonese from AS Roma

Cremonese manager, Davide Ballardini has extolled the qualities of young Ghanaian forward, Felix Afena-Gyan, but believes the 20-year-old needs to improve.

Afena-Gyan has struggled to replicate the form that saw him hog the headlines early in his career, during his days with Italian giants, AS Roma.

The Ghanaian international burst onto the scene after netting a brace in just his second game in the Serie A against Genoa last season.

However, his struggle to break into the first team in Rome saw Afena-Gyan make a permanent move to Cremonese last summer, in search of regular play time.

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“He is a boy in his first year of continuity with a Serie A team and it seems to me that he has made many appearances; it is clear that he needs to improve a lot," Ballardini told DAZN, as quoted by calciomercato.com.

The Cremonese manager believes that if Afena-Gyan improves, given his qualities, he will become 'interesting'.

"You took him on because he has noble qualities such as quickness and speed, the technical and tactical aspect will gradually improve... But Serie A doesn't wait for you, they want you ready and if you're not ready, it's noticeable," he added.

Afena-Gyan has made 19 Serie A appearances this season but he is yet to score for the relegation-threatened side.

However, he has scored twice for Cremonese in the Coppa Italia.

Afena-Gyan rejects Black Meteors invite

Earlier, Sports Brief reported on Ghana U23 coach, Ibrahim Tanko pondering why Afena-Gyan failed to join the Black Meteors for the game against Algeria.

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According to the former Ghanaian international, he spoke with the representatives of the Cremonese player about featuring him in the two qualifying legs.

Afena-Gyan celebrates Mourinho

Sports Brief also reported on Afena-Gyan celebrating Jose Mourinho on his birthday.

The Portuguese coach of AS Roma had turned 60 years old on January 26 this year.

20-year-old Afena-Gyan sent his regards to the iconic coach via a social media post.