He is the new kid on the block for Ghana football. Over the last three months, Thomas Partey has shot to prominence as the biggest Ghanaian name in world football.
It started with a goal against Congo in World Cup qualifying before a hat trick against the same side four days later.
All that while, Partey was growing in prominence at club side Atletico Madrid, where this season, he has moved from a bit-part player to a main man on Diego Simeone’s side.
He is the leading goal scorer for Atletico Madrid with four and in the last two games has produced stunning strikes to bail them out of defeat in the Champions League and another draw in La Liga.
Coach Isaka Ibrahim, one of the first to discover Partey in Somanya, is not surprised he is doing so well.
“I feel big about it because I knew he can do better,” he said. “For me to see Partey playing in the first time in the [UEFA] Champions League I was very excited and it did not surprise us.”
With Ghana football desperate for a new poster boy at the highest level, Partey may have emerged at just about the right time.
The 24-year-old Ghanaian midfielder can always be relied on as ‘Marca’ said, but his training started at Revelation Juvenile Football in Accra.
“Thomas started very well at a town called Somanya and we took him from there to Revelation Juvenile Football at Asiahman,” he said.
“When we saw his style of play, we realize he could do best in the midfield then playing as a forward.”
Partey started from the dusty pitch at the Advance School Park in Ashaiman. Now at the new Wanda Metroplitano, Atletico’s new ground, the sky can only be the limit for Partey.
The trick is for him to add some consistency and get stuck in.
By Daniel Yeboah|3news.com|Ghana