- Rak-Sakyi switches international side ahead of World Cup
- Loanee’s season at Stoke and in Turkey
- Where next for his career?
Crystal Palace winger and current Stoke City loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi has made the decision to switch his international allegiance. Ghana approached the 23-year-old and convinced him to join the Black Stars ahead of their upcoming friendly matches against Mexico and Wales.
Rak-Sakyi had previously represented England at both Under-20 and Under-21 level, but has since decided to switch to play for the side of his parent’s birth country, Ghana.
Previous Crystal Palace star Jordan Ayew will be Rak-Sakyi’s new international teammate, and he will also play with the likes of Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo and Tottenham Hotspur’s Mohammed Kudus should he maintain his place in the Ghanaian squad.
Rak-Sakyi’s Season
The winger spent the first half of the season on loan in Turkey with Caykur Rizespor, scoring four goals and notching one assist in just eleven games in the Turkish Super League. His superb form saw him recalled to Palace to be sent back out on loan.
After a heavy bidding war from numerous clubs, Palace and the player decided that Stoke City was the best option, and Rak-Sakyi played 15 games in the second half of the Championship season, scoring two goals.
Stoke had a disappointing season, and finished 17th after they failed to win any of their last six games. Rak-Sakyi played just over 800 minutes at Stoke, and has had another good year of development.
The question is where does Rak-Sakyi’s career go from here. He’s now had four different loan spells, and whilst he has impressed, there’s doubt that he’s been impactful enough to warrant involvement with the Palace squad next season.
With strong attacking depth and Romain Esse also returning from loan, there is going to be tough competition and whilst another loan move could be on the cards, it may well prove to be time that the club parts ways with Rak-Sakyi on a permanent basis, in a move which would likely benefit the player and his career.
A chance for a World Cup squad
Ghana are in Group L of this Summer’s World Cup, with Panama, Croatia and of course, England. Whilst the Black Stars have a strong squad, with Kudus out injured, they may well call upon Rak-Sakyi to help bolster their forward options.
Carlos Queiroz will be aiming to lead his side to a successful tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, where they kick their tournament off on the 18th of June against Panama. The game will be held at the BMO Field in Toronto, Canada.
Ghana face England in both side’s second group game, on June 23rd, this time in Foxborough at the Gillette Stadium.
If Rak-Sakyi is able to impress, he may well find himself on the plane to play some of his first International games in the biggest competition in the world.
