Former Kumasi Asante Kokoko left back Eric Donkor has courted controversy by claiming that current Ghana Premier League players have similar quality with other old players who graced the local league years back and made names for themselves.
He added that the only difference is that those old players stayed and played in the local league for a long time, hence becoming household names.
The former Asante Kotoko captain believes that the qualities of players of old are not higher than the current crop of local players but the difference is longevity in the local scene.
He said current GPL players leave the local league quite early for greener pastures and lose the opportunity to become household names.
He compared the qualities of current Kotoko player Richmond Lamptey to former Kotoko legends like Stephen Oduro and Opoku Nti and added that the reason why Lamptey will not make a name like them is because he will likely leave soon.
Speaking exclusively to Akoma FM 87.9MHz in Kumasi, the former Kotoko player, who also featured for Ashantigold FC, stated: “We have quality players in the GPL who can match the quality of players like Stephen Oduro, Ishmael Addo, Opoku Nti, and others.
“Richmond Lamptey is a typical example, he is comparable to Stephen Oduro.
“People had love for players like Malik Jabir, Stephen Oduro, and Charles Taylor and the rest because they played in our league for a longer period of time, and it is why their names are mentioned always. However, no one can persuade me that the league is of low quality.”
He added: “The current GPL players are of high quality, but fans can’t get the opportunity to experience them for a longer period because they’re always leaving the country.
“Stephen Oduro may be slightly ahead of Lamptey because Oduro played in the local league for a long time, but Lamptey’s future at Kotoko is uncertain at the moment and may likely leave depriving him the opportunity to become a household name.”
By Raphael Sarkodie|Akoma FM|Onuaonline.com|Ghana
