Ultimate review of Gambian football players in Europe — Part IIIA: Midfielders

7 min readApr 11, 2021

Welcome to my four-part series of the ultimate review of Gambian football players across Europe. In my last two blog posts, I featured Gambian goalkeepers and defenders. It is now time to turn our attention towards midfielders and their performances. This part of the review will come in two subparts A and B. In part A I want to talk about the following midfielders:

In part B I will concentrate on wingers.

Former LaLiga star Sulayman Marreh

Sulayman Marreh made a total of 16 appearances with 1 assist for his Belgian club KAA Gent in the 2019/2020 season. The 24-year-old defensive midfield maestro played 14 times in the Jupiler Pro League (Belgian first tier), 1 in the Europa League first leg game against the Italian giants AS Roma and also made the team in a cup game defeat against KV Kortrijk (2–1). This Gambian midfielder has an impressive rating of 6.86 per game, 82% pass accuracy, 67% dribble success and 73% tackle success (Fotmob).

However, this season 2020/2021 the Gambian midfielder made 11 league appearances, 2 Europa league games and 1 champions league qualification game so far. With a total of 14 appearances for his team, 999 minutes played, 88% pass accuracy, 18 interceptions, 16 clearances, he has an impressive overall rating of 6.73 per game.

Marreh was an instrumental player for the Gambian national team when clinching qualification for the first time in history. He proved to be a very good passer of the ball, camp and composed. He missed The Gambia vs Gabon in Libreville due to a positive COVID-19 result and had to undergo a two-week quarantine in Gabon. However, considering his talent and good form, Sulayman will be certainly making the plane for Cameroon.

Shona hanging the boots for the Scorpions?

Ebrima Sohna played a few games for his Maltese club Mosta FC. Capped 22 times with 2 goals for the Gambian national team, the 31-year Bakau-born defensive midfielder made only 4 appearances for his club in the Malta premier league and 1 in the Maltese FA trophy. He played a total of 450 minutes in the 2019/ 2020 season.

The former Wallidan star is currently without a club and according to social media reports and his Twitter account, Sohna will be playing his last game during the match The Gambia vs Dr Congo. It is fair to say that he is a true legend for The Gambian national team, rising through the ranks of U17, U20 and the senior national team. He is energetic, dynamic and a good reader of the game while his tackling is excellent.

Dave making waves in Danish third tier.

The 30-year-old defensive midfielder Dawda Ngum made a total of 16 appearances for his third-tier club in Denmark Brönshöj BK 2 in 2019/2020 season. He joined the club in the transfer window of January 2020. This season (20/21) Dave made so far a total of 14 appearances for his club with a total of 843 minutes. Capped 15 times for the Gambian national team, Dave will be in contention for making the plane to Cameroon in January 2022.

Hamza Barry recovering well from an injury.

Hamza Barry made a total of 31 appearances, 4 assists and 1 goal for his Croatian team Hajduk Split in the 2019/2020 season. However, Hamza left his Croatian club after 133 games, 10 goals and 11 assists.

The 26-year-old central midfielder got hampered with a knee injury last season. Nevertheless, he is recovering well and hopefully will find a new a club before the start of the African championship in Cameroon next year.

He made 13 appearances for the senior Scorpions. Considering his ability on the ball, athleticism and box to box ability many Gambian football fans are hoping he gets fit quickly and gets more playing time again before the start of the ACONS in January 2022.

Ebou Adams firing in the EFL League Two.

The London-born Gambian Ebou Adams has been fantastic in his league two team Forest Green Rovers FC. The 25-year-old central midfielder made a total of 40 appearances (2763 minutes played), 3 of those in the FA Cup and another 2 in the EFL Cup (Carabao) with 4 goals and 6 assists in the 2019/2020 season. He has an incredible overall rating of 7.14 per game, 27 key passes, 31 chances created, 76% pass accuracy, 70% dribble success, 65% tackle success, 14 blocks, 51 interceptions and 42 clearances.

This season the Gambian international player made a total of 32 appearances (2574 minutes played) for his team with 1 goal and 3 assists. He made so far 19 key passes, created 21 chances, 74 % pass accuracy, 61% tackles success, 9 shots on target, 35 interceptions, 4 blocks, 41 clearances with an impressive overall rating of 6.90 per game and still counting.

Capped 4 times for the Gambian senior national team, Adams will add a lot of strength and depth in midfield for this young Gambian team with his ability to play various positions (central midfielder or central attacking midfielder). And most importantly, his eye for goals and creating chances for teammates could be key for the Gambia to have a successful AFCON tournament in 2022.

Sanneh making his mark in Senegal

Bun Sanneh made a total of 8 appearances for his Senegalese club Generation foot Academy. The 21-year-old central midfielder contributed 1 goal and 1 assist in the 2019/2020 season for this West African Club. He made his senior debut for the Scorpions against Gabon, coming on as a sub. The young central midfielder will be in contention for making the squad when the Gambia makes its first-ever presence in the continents most prestigious football tournament.

Former Barca academy product

The former FC Barcelona youth player Alasana Manneh made a total of 30 appearances, 2 goals and 3 assists for the Polish club Gornik Zabrze in the 2019 /2020 season. Alasana (Morro) is a regular starter for his club and a winner of the award “the Fans Player” of the year 2019/2020 in his team. In the 2020/2021 season, Morro made a total of 25 appearances (1674 minutes played) with 3 goals and 3 assists.

This young midfielder is arguably the most prolific young talent in the Gambian squad. Composed on the ball, dynamic with brilliant dribbling skills. The 22-year-old Banjul-born made only 6 appearances for The Gambia senior team however with his form and playing time, he will add more to his tally in the upcoming African football championship in Cameroon 2022.

Sinyan making his mark for Molde.

Sheriff Sinyan playing for Molde FK in the Norwegian first division made a total of 10 appearances for his team in 2019 with 1 assist, an overall rating of 6.66 per game, 80% pass accuracy, 78% tackles success, 15 interceptions and 43 clearances.

In the 2020/2021 season, the 24-year-old defensive midfielder made a total of 19 appearances (1285 minutes played), 87% pass accuracy, 76% tackles success, 75% dribble success, 10 interceptions, 48 clearances with an so far overall rating of 6.51 per game.

Capped 5 times for The Gambia Sinyan missed Gambia’s crunch game against Angola due to his team refusing to release him due to Covid-19 FIFA rules. However, he will be in contention for the selection when the Gambia takes part in the AfCON tournament in Cameroon. His versatility to play in different positions will give Tom Sainfiert (the Gambian head coach) plenty of options to play him either in defence or middle of the park.

Summary

Players such as Marreh, Barry, Adams, Morro and Sinyan are key to The Gambia national team. They have assured a success in the past qualifiers by making top of group D with 10 points for the first time in history. They will also play a key role in next year’s AFCON Championship. Equally, the likes of Sohna, Ngum, Mbye were instrumental in providing the coach with options during past games.

The Gambia has young footballers with amazing statistics and winning individual accolades within the age of 20 – 26 playing for the top clubs in Europe on weekly basis. Them keeping such performances will be key for the the Gambian national team to achieve success in the AFCON tournament next year.

The upcoming international break will be a perfect opportunity for the coach to try out his new players. The fact that his contract has been extended for another five years will give him time to groom his style of play among his young Gambian team and prepare them for subsequent qualifiers and 2026 World Cup qualifications.

Resources

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