Michael Essien: Ghana Looking to Hire Chelsea Legend As Assistant Coach

• Michael Essien has been considered for a coaching role by Ghana
• Essien currently works as a coach with Danish side FC Nordsjaelland
• Ghana fired Chris Hughton after a poor showing at the 2023 AFCON

Ghana are still searching for a new coach following the dismissal of Chris Hughton last month.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) are reportedly considering former Chelsea star Michael Essien for the assistant role.

The Black Stars fired the former Brighton manager following Ghana's dreadful 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign, in which they failed to go past the group stage for the second tournament in a row, per ESPN.

The Black Stars are looking to make the right choice this time to revitalise their football, which has undergone a rough patch in the last few years.

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Essien enjoyed a stellar career as a footballer overseas. He played for Chelsea and Real Madrid before retiring in 2018. Essien has a coaching role at Denmark's top-flight side, FC Nordsjaelland.

If he accepts the role of Ghana assistant, he will join a long list of ex-Black Stars players who took the role, like Maxwell Konadu, Ibrahim Tanko, Kwasi Appiah, and Didi Dramani, per 3News.

Ghana are still looking for a head coach who will be tasked with building a team to compete at the 2025 AFCON.

Possible Ghana coaches

The Black Stars are searching for a head coach to take over from Hughton. Several names have been linked with the job, as Sports Brief earlier reported.

Former Gambia boss Tom Saintfiet has been linked with the role. He led the Gambia to consecutive AFCON tournaments.

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Other candidates for the Ghana job include two-time AFCON winner Herve Renard and former Ghana international George Boateng.

5 qualities of next Ghana coach

Sports Brief also reported on the GFA listing five major qualities the next Ghana boss must have.

GFA said the coach must be a proven winner and a head coach from a national team or a club, a coach with a philosophy; he must have more than 15 years of experience and a proven track record in team reconstruction, organization and talent development.

Moreover, the coach must also be a disciplinarian and possess leadership skills. A new coach will be to correct the failure in Ivory Coast.