The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
United swoop for ex-Bayern trialist Cudjoe
Dundee United have signed Ghana’s under20 African Cup of Nations winner Mathew Cudjoe. The exciting attacker, 18, has signed for the Tannadice club – subject to a work permit – after leaving Ghanaian side Young Apostles.
Cudjoe is highly-rated, having previously trained with German giants Bayern Munich and his arrival is seen a somewhat of a coup.
Courier Sport exclusively revealed United were tracking Cudjoe in August and he later arrived in Scotland for a training stint at United.
Now the technically-gifted star has landed a dream move to Scotland and will add a touch of flair to the United attack when his move is rubber-stamped.
“We are delighted to welcome Mathew to Dundee United,” United sporting director Tony Asghar told the club website.
“He is a young and exciting talent that we can’t wait to watch develop further over the coming seasons.
“As a club we are continuously aiming to attract talented players – both in our local area, in markets we are well established in and in those that have been less explored.
“We have proven we are a Club that knows how to develop and give opportunities to young players.
“He is a player we can have high hopes for. We believe we can give him the platform to hone his talent and hopefully have a very strong career.
“Through opportunities created by the rules surrounding Brexit, we have* looked at different markets we can look to gain a foothold.
“It has been a great experience working with the leaders at Young Apostles FC to conclude this deal.”
Meanwhile United boss Tam Courts insists the “bloody nose” Aberdeen gave the Tangerines on the opening day of the season has set his side on the path to success.
United’s Scottish Premiership campaign got off to a poor start as goals from Jonny Hayes and Christian Ramirez helped Dons to a 2-0 win.
But any fears United fans may have had over the Courts’ era were swiftly allayed as a they ended champions Rangers 41game unbeaten run.
United went on to lose just one of their next 10 league matches to challenge at the top.
They have lost to St Johnstone and Hearts in recent weeks but will be keen to return to winning ways when Aberdeen visit Tannadice on Saturday.
And Courts insists his United side is a different animal to the one that lost at Pittodrie.
“I didn’t feel it was a catastrophic performance but we were beaten by the better team,” said Courts.
“We never hit the heights we were hoping to and, naturally, came in for some criticism. That was accepted by the players, staff and myself.
“We had a really positive meeting the following week and it may have brought the breakthrough we needed.
“It is not something we dwelled on.
“Maybe it’s a bit of a backhanded compliment that people always go back to the Aberdeen result. It gave us a bloody nose many months ago.
“But the players have performed to such a good level since then that we’ve been the polar opposite.
“The players deserve enormous credit for how far they have come in such a short space of time.”
Meanwhile, Courts has hailed the impact Scott Brown has made on Aberdeen this term.
Ex-Celtic captain Brown has been deployed in a defensive role for Dons this term and has been hugely influential.
“You can see going from Celtic to Aberdeen that he still has plenty left in the tank,” said Courts.
“He is still showing what a top player he is. He has shown his versatility by playing in the middle of a back three.
“Aberdeen have been changing in-game so there is tactical flexibility there.
“It’s a game we are excited about and one we should be confident about playing well and fighting for three points.