Swiss giants FC Basel have announced the signing of Ghana youth star Emmanuel Essiam for the next four-and-a-half years.
The midfielder, 18, arrives from one-time Ghana Premier League champions Berekum Chelsea with whom he bagged domestic topflight football experience.
Essiam featured 13 times for the Bibires in the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League and had played 7 out of their 9 games in the ongoing campaign before this switch.
Basel becomes the first challenge abroad for Essiam who was an integral member of the Ghana U-20 squad that conquered Wafu Zone-B and went on to win the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title in Mauritania last year.
Portions of a club statement Monday read:
“Emmanuel Essiam joins FCB from Berekum Chelsea FC of the Ghana Premier League. He is a U20 national player in his home country and takes on his first challenge abroad in Basel with great development potential.
“FCB will carefully introduce him to the new environment and give him the best possible support in developing his skills to the full.
“We are pleased that with Emmanuel we were able to tie a promising talent in midfield to FCB in the long term. He has good dynamics, is agile and agile. He works hard in the center, always in the service of the team and can therefore recapture many balls from the opponent.”
Essiam – whose role model is French and Manchester United star Paul Pogba – signed a long-term contract with Rotblau until the summer of 2026.
