Ibrahim Salifu made the big move from Techiman Eleven Wonders to Hearts of Oak for the second round of the 2020/21 season.
But where does ‘Di Maria’ fits in the Hearts of Oak team and who is his direct competitor?
The former Eleven Wonders playmaker does his job on the right wing. He is a typical right winger who is left footed. He likes to cut in from the right to deliver some delightful balls into the area and the final third for his forward teammates.
But at Hearts of the players who operate in that area of the pitch are Manaf Umar or Patrick Razak. This means Salifu has some tough work to do and now that there is a new manager, the position is expected to be keenly contested for.
Manaf is a player on the rise. He is fast improving and has become a key first team player at least since the Kosta Papic time as coach began. 3 goals and couple of assists are not bad return form the attacking player.
Razak , on the other hand , was in and out of the team under Papic but since the Serbian left Razak has featured prominently. In terms of talent there is no doubt to raise regarding Patrick Razak but it is his productivity in terms of goals and assist that represent his biggest weakness.
Samuel Boadu favors a 4 – 3 – 3 formation – two attacking wingers and one major striker – meaning it is not likely to see Razak, Manaf and Salifu starting upfront at the same time. One has to start from the bench.
However if the coach decides to accommodate the attacking trio at the same time, he would have to go with a system like 4 – 2 – 3 -1 formation and thereby sacrificing one midfielder. With this system, Razak and Salifu could operate from the flanks and Manaf sits in the hole behind the striker.
