The youngster has drawn positive comments from his boss as he misses their Uefa Conference League game on Thursday
AS Roma coach Jose Mourinho has lauded the qualities of young Ghanaian midfielder Felix Afena-Gyan ahead of their Uefa Conference League game against Bodo/Glimit on Thursday.
The 18-year-old was handed his debut in Serie A last week against Cagliari and once again featured in the derby against AC Milan. However, he wasn’t registered for the Conference League and Mourinho admits his absence will be felt.
“With Felix, he is a player who is not registered for the Conference League. But he is a player with qualities that we don’t have in the squad. He’s a player who looks for opportunities that we don’t often try to exploit,” Mourinho said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“We have a lot of players who want the ball at the feet; we don’t have many who look for the spaces to run into. I like him because of how he tries to run into space and how he works out on the pitch. How he presses. He’s aggressive in the spaces
“He is a long, long way from being the finished product – a long way from being a complete player and a long way from being the perfect player to start for a team like Roma. But he is a player that deserves to be worked with and deserves a chance to play.
“It’s good for him that he is training with us, just as it is good for other players.
Reports in the local media suggest that Afena-Gyan has been handed his maiden Ghana call up ahead of the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa.
However, the reports add that Mourinho believes Roma should not allow the youngster to honour the invitation since it is too early for his development.