Ghana coach Claude Le Roy feels midfield sensation Anthony Annan could be the new Claude Makelele.

The Start midfielder has caught the eye of a number of clubs during the Africa Cup of Nations.

Chelsea star Michael Essien is reported to have recommended him to his club and Le Roy has big hopes for the 21-year-old.

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He looked good in ghanas last game and I thing Essien has lot of leverage on ghanan players since he is their leader. I woudn't mind swapping him to Sidwell...

id swap you for sidwell.

God how many next Makeleles do we need?

signing a player based on a good international tournament?

what a great idea.

signing a player based on a good international tournament?

what a great idea.

I think there's a lot more to it than that.

I haven't followed the competition so I can't say, but diarra supposedly was the new maka despite being a totally different player in many aspects... so I don't know what he plays like or how well- player comparisons are often extremely lazy.

but there are so many considerations- how (and why) has he ended up in the norwegian second division? what is his club form like? what is the standard of opposition he's been up against in the ANC? and for his domestic football? for how long has he looked a good player? what is his attitude like when he's out of form? what is his character like?

this is before we even ask questions relevant to ourselves- do we really need another defensive midfielder? is it a great idea to sign another african player, particularly a midfielder? is he the best option available even if we were looking to sign a defensive midfielder? even if he is good enough to play in the premiership, would he be good enough to play for us?

there have been a million stupid signings based on average or poor players having good international tournaments. let's leave them to souness and houllier.

Bah! Don't even get me started on Diarra. The guy is a jerk but all credit to him; he's a fantastic player.

I'm not too sure on his current form or why he's currently playing in the Norwegian second division, but I imagine Essien and the Ghana coach in particular have a very good idea of what he's capable of, and if they regard him very highly then it'd be silly not to at least consider him if he's interested in coming to the club. The fact he's playing for a Norwegian second division club could work heavily in our favour too, easier to tempt him away, and for less cash too, what what.

Makalele is playing less and less, Mikel is quality but many are still unconvinced by Sidwell, so another defensive midfielder wouldn't hurt IMHO. Ballack and Essien don't really play in that role often for us do they?

being a great player doesn't make one a great judge of a player: see souness again.

essien can and has played for us there, ballack can as well. makelele, as we all know could play until he is 40, and mikel will be around for a long while- he is, in fact younger than this guy.

again- why is such a great player playing in the second division in norway? and why would we sign another african midfielder?

God how many next Makeleles do we need?

Do we really have one already? I don't see neither Essien nor Mikel as a new Makelele.

I said it before and I will say it again.....Ballack could easily fill that role.

I believe he has been playing in the Norweigianfirst division, but his club IK Start were relegated this year, and feel they best cash in now while the iron is still somewhat hot. No idea about him as a player obviously, who here really would (outside of any Norweigians or Ghanians)?

Do we need him?

Look what happened with Diarra.

Rooney really rates him........I remeber a story where it said he loves Annan!

Rooney really rates him........I remeber a story where it said he loves Annan!

Kofi or Anthony?

Probably worth keeping in mind that Leroy also claims John Mensah is one of the best five defenders in the world.

If he is happy to spend most of his next 2-3 years in the reserves or out on loan, then by all means, we should sign him.

But if, like Diarra, he spits the dummy about not being in the first team, then we should steer well clear.

We are in a position where we SHOULD take a gamble on young players like this - provided they have the right attitude and know their place in the squad.

Diarra was/is a classic example of what we don't want. Great player with loads of potential, but not prepared to wait for his chance (which would/will inevitably come in the next year or two when Maka is no longer up to it, and Lamps and Ballack get into their 30's).

By the way, the reason why Annan is playing in Norway (and the reason why Mikel, and a lot of young Africans play there) is that their work permit laws are a lot less strict than most other European countries. I don't think you have to be a regular international to get a permit.

God how many next Makeleles do we need?

Do we really have one already? I don't see neither Essien nor Mikel as a new Makelele.

Neither do I, but they have all been labeled as such, just as Diarra was. We should stop trying to look for the "next makelele" as whoever comes in will never get near Makelele, he is as close to perfection in that role as possible, but he isn't the only good defensive midfielder out there so look for one of them and not just hopelessly try and find his clone somewhere.

But if there's a player that's already being touted as having a very similar style and qualities as Maka, would probably show a very keen interest in joining and would no doubt be cheap as chips, we'd be silly not to go for him.

Rooney really rates him........I remeber a story where it said he loves Annan!

Kofi or Anthony?

Nope......just old scouse nan's

There's only 1 Maka, and he's still got a few yrs left in him. To play Ballack there means you lose his creativity in the final third, if you played Essien there you'd miss his box to box drive and Mikel just is'nt disciplined enough at the moment.

Can you imagine Mikel in a european cup semi-final, we'd be down to 10men in no time.

Granted Maka cant play 60-70 games a season anymore and with the quality we have in midfield he wont have to.

Said i'd revive this seen as he's having a fantastic world cup and we've been linked with a number of holding players as of late. Very similiar to Essien. May be worth taking a look at.

God, you must have a thing for the guy. Digging up a thread two and a half years old is something. Did you have this on your bookmarks all the time?

In a biscuit tin under the bed....

Annan's a pretty consistant performer - rarely preforms bad. Ingebrigt Steen Jensen (a famous name in Norway) made a good point a week back when he talked about Anthony, no matter who he plays against, if it is a team in the 2nd division or the world elite you get the same from the guy. So I'm sure he'll play as good in the PL as in WC. The thing is, he is no better than Mikel. Those who complain about JOM's lack of offensive contributions, Annan haven't scored a single goal and he's been in Norway for a while. When Mikel was in Lyn, he was one of the best offensive players in the league. I wonder what happened.