Asante Kotoko to cough up $50,000 for Justice Blay

Kumasi Asante Kotoko have been asked to cough up $50,000, if they want to benefit from the services of their Medeama SC target, Justice Blay.

Until his release clause was recently varied, the club had placed a $100,000 price tag on the defender as he became one of the prime targets of Coach Maxwell Konadu, who is aiming to beef up his squad ahead of their domestic and continental club campaigns.

According to James Essilfie, CEO of Tarkwa-based Medeama, negotiations were ongoing between the two clubs and they were awaiting a response from the Porcupine Warriors after tabling their demands.

“They expressed interest in the player and we have given them our price so it is up to them to come up with their offer then we can take it from there”, he said to the Graphic Sports yesterday.

The Graphic Sports understands that Medeama slashed their asking price for the player to $50,000 and Kotoko are expected to come up with a counter-offer for the 28-year-old defender who featured on loan for the Porcupine Warriors last season and established himself as a key player in Coach Konadu’s side.

Last week, Konadu admitted to the Graphic Sports that they were pursuing some players on the local scene but refused to disclose the identities of their top targets to avoid a situation where other clubs would move ahead of them to create a competition that could drive the price of the players to astronomical levels.

So far, Kotoko’s reinforcement attempt had been hampered by their failure to commit some desired players after they were initially snubbed by Joseph Esso who surprisingly joined Dreams FC, while their pursuit for Shafiu Mumuni looks a mirage due to the player’s preference for a foreign contract.

However, the Communications Manager of Kotoko, Moses Antwi Benefo, said he was positive the club would certainly secure the signature of the player as ongoing negotiations looked very positive.