Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has disclosed that Ghana once came close to securing the services of former England international Danny Welbeck, but internal opposition prevented the move from happening.
Speaking on Channel One TV, he revealed that the late President John Evans Atta Mills personally reached out to Welbeck’s father in an attempt to convince the striker to represent Ghana.
“We had the same opportunity with Danny Welbeck. The late Prof. Mills made a call to his father,” Vanderpuye said.
“Some people knew that if Welbeck had come, he would have displaced Asamoah Gyan, so they stopped it.”
Welbeck, born in England to Ghanaian parents, went on to represent the Three Lions at international level, earning 42 caps and scoring 16 goals between 2011 and 2018.
Vanderpuye’s revelation has reignited debate about Ghana’s handling of dual-nationality players, an issue that has resurfaced with recent efforts to attract foreign-born talents ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The former Sports Minister also used the platform to praise Chelsea’s young defender Kobie Acheampong, describing him as “better than all our current defenders” and urging the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to move swiftly to secure his services before another country does.
