Christian Atsu
Christian Atsu Twasam (born 10 January 1992) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays for Saudi Professional League club Al-Raed and the Ghana national team. He primarily plays as a winger, although he has also been deployed as an attacking midfielder. He began his career with Porto, also spending a season on loan at Rio Ave. In 2013, he was signed by Chelsea for £3.5 million, who subsequently loaned him to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, AFC Bournemouth and Málaga. After spending the 2016–17 season on loan at Newcastle United, he completed a permanent transfer to the club  in May 2017. A full international with over 30 caps since his debut in 2012, Atsu has represented Ghana at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He helped the team finish as runners-up at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, in which he also won Player of the Tournament and Goal of the Tournament. Early life. Atsu was born in Ada Foah, Greater Accra Region. He spent some of his education at the then Feyenoord Football Academy at Gomoa Fetteh, in the Central Region of Ghana which has now been changed to West  African Football Academy in Sogakope in the Volta Region of Ghana. He later moved to join Cheetah FC a club based in Kasoa. Club career. Porto. Atsu arrived at Porto at the age of 17, manager scouted him and gave him his first change finishing his football formation with the club. On 14 May 2011, he was called up by first-team manager André Villas-Boas for a Primeira Liga match against Marítimo, but he did not leave the bench. As with teammate Kelvin, Atsu was sent on loan to fellow league side Rio Ave for the 2011–12 season. He  made his debut in the competition on 28 August 2011, in a 0–1 home loss against Olhanense. On 16 December 2011, Atsu opened the score at Estádio da Luz against Benfica in the 24th minute, but the hosts eventually won it 5–1. He returned to Porto for the 2012–13 campaign, starting in nine of his league appearances as they won the national championship for the third consecutive time. Chelsea. On 1 September 2013, Atsu agreed to join Chelsea on a five-year contract, for a reported £3.5 million, being immediately loaned to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, for the rest  of the 2013–14 season. Loan to Vitesse. On 6 October 2013, Atsu made his debut against Feyenoord as a substitute, replacing Kazaishvili in the 77th minute. He went on to providing an assist to Mike Havenaar, but it was not enough to prevent a 2–1 loss for Vitesse. On 19 October, Atsu made his first start against SC Heerenveen, which ended in a 3–2 win for Vitesse. On 9 November, he converted a penalty for his first goal with Vitesse, against FC Utrecht; the match ended in a 3–1 win for Vitesse. In total, Atsu played 30 games and scored  5 goals for the Dutch side as they finished 6th in the league and qualified to the play offs. Loan to Everton. On 13 August 2014, Atsu joined fellow Premier League club Everton on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. He made his first appearance for the club 10 days later, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Kevin Mirallas in a 2–2 draw with Arsenal at Goodison Park. On 21 September 2014, Atsu made his first start in the league against Crystal Palace, which ended in a 2–3 home loss. After his absence due to the  Africa Cup of Nations, Atsu returned to Everton's lineup on 19 February 2015 in a Europa League match against BSC Young Boys, playing out the last five minutes after replacing hat-trick scorer Romelu Lukaku. and came off the bench three days later to set up a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw at home to Leicester City. On 15 March 2015, in the match against Newcastle United, he came off the bench with five minutes remaining, and provided an assist to fellow substitute Ross Barkley for Everton's third goal of a 3–0 home victory. Following Atsu's  impact as a substitute in the above games, he was picked to start the second leg of a Europa League Round of 16 match away to Dynamo Kyiv on 19 March with regular right-winger Aaron Lennon cup-tied, with Everton leading 2–1 from the first leg. His team were eliminated after losing 5–2 on the night, he was withdrawn in the 65th minute, and that was his final first-team appearance for Everton. Loan to Bournemouth. On 29 May 2015, Atsu was loaned to newly promoted Premier League team Bournemouth for the upcoming season, with club Chief Executive Neill  Blake calling the deal "a huge coup". He made his debut on 25 August in the second round of the League Cup, starting in a 4–0 win at Hartlepool United. Atsu's only other appearance was in the next round's victory at Preston North End; he did not feature in any Bournemouth matchday squad in the league and he was recalled from his loan by Chelsea on 1 January 2016. Loan to Málaga. On 24 January 2016, Atsu gave an interview with the BBC World Service in which he spoke about leaving Chelsea and his imminent transfer to Levante . The next day, it was confirmed that he would be instead moving to Málaga on loan. On 5 February 2016, Atsu made his debut in the starting eleven and scored in a 3–0 victory over Getafe CF. Newcastle United. On 31 August 2016, Atsu joined Newcastle United on a one-year loan deal with an option to buy clause in the contract. On 13 September, his debut for the club came on as a substitute for Yoan Gouffran in the 61st minute in a 6–0 away victory against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, where he provided the assist to  Aleksandar Mitrović to earn their fifth goal. Atsu scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win against Rotherham United on 1 October, followed by further goals against Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic. In May 2017, Atsu signed a four-year deal to join Newcastle for £6.2 million from Chelsea. On 1 June 2021 Atsu announced across his social media platforms that he had left Newcastle. Al-Raed. On 17 July 2021, Atsu joined Al-Raed. International career. Atsu won his first senior cap for the Ghana national team on 1 June 2012 against Lesotho, scoring in  the process. He was described by the BBC as an "excellent prospect", whilst ESPN added he was "quick and technically impressive", and a potential future star for his national team. The following year, he was in the Ghanaian squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. He started the first match, a 2–2 draw against the DR Congo, and was a substitute in the following 1–0 win over Mali. He returned to the starting line-up in the last group match against Niger in Port Elizabeth, scoring the second goal of a 3–0 win which put his  country into the quarter-finals as group winners. Atsu featured in the rest of Ghana's matches as they came fourth, scoring in their penalty shootout elimination by Burkina Faso. Atsu was selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad, starting in all the matches as Ghana were eliminated in the group stage. At the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Atsu scored twice in a 3–0 win over Guinea in the quarter-finals. He helped the team to the final, where they lost in a penalty shootout against the Ivory Coast. At the end of the tournament, he was awarded  with both the Player of the Tournament award, as well as the Goal of the Tournament award for his strike against Guinea. Personal life. Atsu is a devout Christian who shares Bible verses on social media. He is married with two sons and a daughter. Honours. Porto Newcastle United Ghana Individual