Ex-Hearts of Oak star at DeMbare
DYNAMOS are seemingly fascinated by Ghanaian players and for good reasons.
George Owusu was a key member of coach Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa’s legendary crop of 1998, which reached the final of the CAF Champions League.
Defender Sylvester Appiah, after a long and decent stint with ZPC Kariba, erected a memorable defensive wall at the Glamour Boys and almost led the giants to their first Chibuku Super Cup triumph in 2021.
And Emmanuel Paga, the team’s top goal scorer in the league in 2022, eventually helped Dynamos to the Chibuku Super Cup success last season.
The Glamour Boys are preparing to fight on different fronts in the fast-approaching 2024 season including the CAF Confederation Cup.
And they have sought to bring more Ghanaian flair in their fold in the form of profiled midfielder Frederick Ansah Botchway.
The 27-year-old, unlike others before him, has a well-documented playing history and his posture has already won the heart of Dynamos coach Genesis “Kaka” Mangombe.
Botchway has seen action with Ghana powerhouse Accra Hearts of Oak whom he helped win five trophies including the Premier League and Ghana FA Cup twice in his 55 appearances between 2020 and 2022.
After a brief stay at Samartex, Botchway was then poached by Ethiopian side Adama City where he has been playing before coming to DeMbare.
With Paga believed to have failed his trials at Polokwane City in South Africa and back at DeMbare, Botchway will not feel lonely should the Glamour Boys, as is most likely decide to secure his services.
The Ghanaian was in cheerful mood as he went through his paces at training this week with Mangombe hinting that the midfielder, who can also play as a centre-forward could be plying his trade at the former champions.
“Yes, I am very happy with what I have seen of him (Botchway) so far. He is a very impressive player and we will see how it goes in the next few days,” said Mangombe.
“We need to strengthen our squad. That is not a secret. Of course, we have retained the bulk of the squad that did duty for us last season but we need to add more steel.
“The Ghanaian midfielder has so far impressed us and we will see as we go what we are going to decide.”
Botchway has had provisional national team call-ups before, first being drafted into the Ghana A team (local Black Stars) for the regional WAFU tournament in 2019 and for the CHAN fiesta in 2020 although he didn’t make the grade on both occasions.
But there is no doubt he will add value to the Glamour Boys should Mangombe decide to take him on board.
With midfielder Junior Makunike leaving for Simba Bhora and Tinashe Makanda and Nyasha Chintuli offloaded and Jayden Bakare likely to be loaned out, Botchway could come in handy in answering some of the difficult questions the aforementioned players failed to tackle last term.
Botchway will be joining another foreigner, Namibian Sydney Urikob, who has already put pen to paper at the capital club.
While Botchway’s deal is most likely to be sealed in the coming days, another foreigner, Nigeria’s Basiro Musa is still trying to impress the Dynamos technical team.
Being a striker Musa, should he impress, could be signed by Dynamos especially given that Bulawayo Chiefs’ Obriel Chirinda could be hard to get.
Dynamos’ Achilles Heel last season was their blunt strike force and in December last year they sent emissaries to 2024 Golden Boot runner-up Chirinda, who agreed to join the team.
However, he still has a running contract with Bulawayo Chiefs and would need their blessing if he is to move this year.