Essien: Kudus is Ghana's star
The Nordsjaelland assistant discusses the club's Ghana connection, training the next generation, the Black Stars' World Cup chances and more.
Michael Essien has been Nordsjaelland's assistant since 2020
Danish club has a strong connection to the Ghana national team
Former midfielder discusses the current crop and their World Cup hopes
When Ghana touch down at FIFA World Cup 2026™, their squad is likely to have a distinct FC Nordsjaelland feel to it.
The Danish club were acquired by the Accra-based Right to Dream Academy in 2015, a move which created a pathway for Ghanaian talents to develop in Europe. The likes of Mohammed Kudus, Ibrahim Osman, Ernest Nuamah and Kamaldeen Sulemana have taken that path, and are all likely to feature for the Black Stars in the tournament which is being co-hosted across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The connection stretches further than the pitch. In 2020, Ghana legend Michael Essien, who won 59 caps and played at Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014, became the club’s assistant coach, giving him the unique opportunity of working with a selection of the nation’s stars of the future.
“I knew the former owner Tom Vernon,” he told FIFA. “He asked me if I would be interested in coming here. I think what motivated me was the FCN (FC Nordsjaelland) and Right to Dream connection.
“We have a lot of African boys here, so I thought it would be nice to come on board and help out with the young ones because they are our future, so we need to give them all the advice and experience they need. You always feel joy when you see a young one that you've worked with represent their country."
Kudus and Sulemana are arguably the academy’s star alumni. While the former departed Nordsjaelland for Ajax just before Essien’s arrival, he spotlighted the pair – now playing for Tottenham and Atalanta respectively – for special praise.
“If I start talking about him [Kudus], we won't finish!” he said with a smile. “I think he has showcased himself to the football world. He’s one of the biggest talents and for Ghana, he's our star. We have to protect him and give him all the love and confidence he needs.
“Sulemana is a great talent. I managed to see him here and he's got a lot of qualities in him. He's a good dribbler, he's very fast, he's quite strong. Hopefully he can bring that on board. He has to feel free and be himself when he's on the pitch, then the rest will come.”
That talent pipeline is showing little sign of stopping. Versatile midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi is one of several young Ghanaians starring for the Tigers, and the 20-year-old has already won ten caps for the senior side with the majority of his minutes coming from right-back.
"I can only say good things about him," he said. "He's such a hard-working guy. He's very calm, very respectful, very quiet. He does his talking on the pitch and it's good to see him doing very well for the team. He's got his own style of play, but sometimes I see some glimpses that remind him of me when I was little. He always comes to me and asks questions and I try to give him the best advice and he takes it on board. Hopefully he can be a huge player in the future."
Yirenkyi, Kudus and Co will contest Group L at the finals alongside Panama, England and Croatia. Having missed out on AFCON 2025, Essien believes there will be extra determination for Ghana to make a stateside statement.
"Of course it was a big disappointment, [but] in football, you have to move on from that," Essien stated. "The good thing in football is you always have the next game to make things right.
"That's a tough group. But there's always tough games to play, and it's up to you to win them. They should take every game as it comes and do their best. It's a tournament – anything can happen. You just have to make sure you win your games and keep moving. Let's see what they can do."