Enzo Maresca has advised Abdul Fatawu to use his absence from Ghana’s Africa Cup of Nations team as an opportunity to persuade Leicester City to sign him on a permanent basis in the summer.
The manager of Manchester City has welcomed the news that the winger would be with the club for the next six weeks rather than representing his country at the tournament in Ivory Coast. Fatawu was named to Ghana’s preliminary roster but did not make the final squad revealed by manager Chris Hughton on Monday.
With Fatawu in fantastic form, it’s a boost for City and should be viewed as a chance for the youth, according to Maresca. The 19-year-old is on loan from Sporting Lisbon, and having another month to impress at the King Power Stadium could persuade the club to pay the fee to sign him permanently in the summer.
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“If you asked me if it was better for Abdul to play for his international team or here, I would tell you it’s much better for us to see him for January,” Maresca said in a statement. “Additionally, Abdul is a loan player, so we have options in the future.”
“When you lose a player for a month, we probably struggle a little bit more to make our final decision.” Now he has more time to show us how good he is. Then, at the end, we’ll make a decision.”
Maresca’s claim that City can yet make a decision on Fatawu contradicts news from Portugal. There is a compulsory purchase agreement of €17m (£14.7m) incorporated into the loan contract, which will be activated if City earns promotion.
There have also been reports in Ghana that Fatawu turned down a call-up in order to focus on City and fulfill the minimum number of minutes required to meet a buy clause in his loan contract. Had Fatawu been included to Ghana’s team, he would most likely have been a bench option for Hughton.
Maresca said he didn’t know if the Ghanaian allegations were real, but added, “We’re happy if he did that.” They texted me at 11 p.m. on Sunday to inform me that Abdul would not be traveling with his overseas squad. I believe this is because the manager did not contact him. But I’m not sure if they discussed it and decided against it.”
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