It appears that Harrison Afful’s stay with Columbus Crew SC will be a brief one.
After being acquired by the club during the 2015 summer transfer window, the Ghanaian fullback is apparently set to move to Turkish first division club Mersin Idmanyurdu, according to a report from Ghanasoccernet.com.
Breaking News: Harrison Afful in shock Columbus Crew exit, set for Turkish side Mersin Yurdu: Ghana defender H… https://t.co/CSvDao2Mml
— Ghanasoccernet.com (@Ghanasoccernet) December 28, 2015
Report: Harrison Afful Set for Move to Turkish League
The 29-year-old was acquired by Crew SC on July 30th after playing the previous six seasons of his career for famed Tunisian club Esperance. His presence brought an immediate impact to a back line in need of that missing piece to the identity sporting director and head coach Gregg Berhalter had in mind for the club. Specifically, his ability as an overlapping outside back capable of pushing forward while also remaining sound defensively were highly coveted assets.
In his nine regular season appearances for Columbus, the club went 6-2-1 and finished second in the final Eastern Conference standings. During that time, he also earned three caps for Ghana’s national team, including being named captain for their September 1st friendly in a 3-0 win against Congo. He also appeared in two November FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers, helping the Black Stars defeat Comoros 2-0 on aggregate to advance out of the second round of CAF (African region) qualifying.
He also played a major role in Crew SC’s historic run to the 2015 MLS Cup Final. In the club’s 3-1 win over Montreal in the second leg of the conference semifinals, Afful accounted for 30.8 percent of Columbus’ total interceptions in the game. Two weeks later, he was tied with defensive midfielder Wil Trapp with a 79 percent pass accuracy rate in the Crew SC’s 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls in the opening leg of the East finals, good enough for third best on the team.
It should be noted the Columbus had picked up Afful’s option for 2016. According to Patrick Guldan of MassiveReport.com, this would indicate that Crew SC will be expecting a transfer fee from his new club to compensate for his departure.
The club signed Corey Ashe on December 18th in the first free agent transaction in club history as a means to add depth at fullback. With Afful supposedly on his way out, it will be interesting to see if the Black and Gold make another move with this same objective in mind.
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