The Irish Mail on Sunday

Ajax join United in Sulemana race

- By Joe Bernstein

DUTCH champions Ajax are trying to steal a march on Manchester United in the pursuit of talented Ghana winger Kamaldeen Sulemana.

Ajax’s director of football and former Arsenal winger Marc Overmars is set to travel to Denmark tomorrow to watch 19-year-old Sulemana play for his club Nordsjaell­and against FC Copenhagen.

The Amsterdam club have already had a £10million bid turned down for the winger in the January transfer window but are poised to go in with a higher offer to get the deal done quickly and fend off interest from

United’s transfer chief Matt Judge and German club Bayer Leverkusen. Sulemana, who can play on either flank, first rose to prominence in Ghana’s Right to Dream Academy, who own Nordsjaell­and and use them as a shop window for their most promising young players.

Ajax signed 20-year-old Mohammed Kudus from Nordsjaell­and last summer and he has recently helped them win a 35th Eredivisie title.

Sulemana is tipped to become the most successful footballer from Ghana since Chelsea star Michael Essien.

He has scored five goals in his last five games in the Danish league and was named the league’s player of the month for April. He also made his internatio­nal debut in October.

Though United paid Atalanta £37m for Ivory Coast teenager Amad Diallo in January, they consider Sulemana a safe investment.

They also anticipate his value starting to increase if he features in the Black Stars’ high-profile World Cup qualifier against South Africa next month.

 ??  ?? WONDERKID: Sulemana has broken into Ghana’s team at 19
WONDERKID: Sulemana has broken into Ghana’s team at 19

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