Kumasi Asante Kotoko have renewed the contract of Coach Mas-Ud Dramani for a year and immediately set in motion the club’s recruitment machinery with a planned invasion of the camps of former Premier League champions, Aduana Stars and Berekum Chelsea, to sign their top players.
Dramani, who steered Kotoko to back-to-back First Capital Plus Premier League titles and also won the MTN FA Cup, will remain in the driving seat of the league champions this season as they chase domestic and continental honours with their title-winning technical team unchanged.
In their determination to retain both the Premier League and FA Cup, and also make an impact on continental football, the management of Kotoko has stormed the local transfer market to find replacements for lead striker, Seidu Bancey, and midfielder Michael Akuffo, who have been poached by a Libyan club.
A source within the Kotoko management revealed to Graphic Sports that Chelsea duo of David Tetteh and Jackson Owusu, were top targets of the Porcupine Warriors, who are also keeping the tabs on Obed Owusu and Latif Mohammed, both of the Berekum side.
Also on Kotoko’s recruitment radar is Aduana Stars’ stalwart defender, Godfred Saka, who has been linked with a possible move to Kotoko’s arch-rivals, Hearts of Oak.
The source said the league champions had already completed negotiations to sign WA All Stars stalwart defender, Akwasi Acheampong, ahead of other big name recruitments planned before the league season commences next month.
“We want to successfully defend the First Capital Plus Premier League title and also retain the FA Cup, so we are not taking anything to chance,” said the Kotoko management source.
Having failed to make any meaningful impact on the continental scene in recent times, Coach Dramani faces pressure to succeed by steering Kotoko past the preliminaries round to, at least, the money zone of the CAF Champions League competition, while chasing domestic honours.
