Boakye loaned out to Heracles for one season
10 August: Ajax defender Emmanuel Boakye will wear the
colours of Eredivisie side Heracles Almelo for the remainder of
the 2006-2007 season, officially until 30 June 2007. Ajax
and Heracles agreed a one year loan deal, effective
immediately. The Ghanaian defender extended his Ajax contract
until 2008 in April, but would not have seen much action in
Amsterdam this season, with defenders such as Stam, Vermaelen,
Heitinga, Grygera and Ogararu above him
in Henk ten Cate's pecking order.
Emmanuel Boakye (pronounced 'Bo-ah-chee') was
born in Ejura, Ghana, on 25 March 1985. He moved to The
Netherlands in 1993, played for amateur side Zuidvogels (from
the town of Huizen) as a child and for the FC Utrecht
youth as a teenager. Ajax scouts discovered him in
2000. The defender, who can play as a right fullback but
also in the center of defense, joined the Ajax B1
youth team in 2000.
Boakye was first added to the Ajax-1 squad in the fall of
2005 by head-coach Danny Blind, as many Ajax defenders
were injured or suspended at the time. The youngster made
his first team début on 24 September 2005 in the
Eredivisie home game against Roda JC. In total, Emmanuel
Boakye had six appearances for Ajax in the Eredivisie, plus
another four in the post-season Eredivisie play-offs and one in
the Dutch cup competition.
Ajax offered the player a
contract renewal in April 2006, and the Ghanaian
started the new season with the first squad, but at
the end of the pre-season campaign Ajax and the player agreed
that a transfer on loan would be best for his development.
Boakye was soon linked with two Eredivisie outfits. When Sparta
Rotterdam lost interest the choice for Heracles Almelo was
easily made. (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl
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