Leicester City’s manager, Enzo Maresca, sees Abdul Fatawu’s exclusion from Ghana’s Africa Cup of Nations squad as a chance for the winger to impress and potentially secure a permanent move to the club. Maresca welcomes Fatawu’s availability for the next six weeks, highlighting the player’s good form and emphasizing the opportunity for the 19-year-old to showcase his skills.

Maresca expressed his preference for Fatawu’s presence at Leicester over his international duties, citing the advantages of having the player available throughout January. As a loan player from Sporting Lisbon, Fatawu’s situation offers the club future options, and Maresca believes the extended time with the team allows for a more informed decision about the player’s future.

Contrary to reports from Portugal suggesting a compulsory purchase agreement of €17m (£14.7m) tied to promotion, Maresca remains optimistic about the club’s decision-making flexibility. There are also speculations from Ghana that Fatawu may have declined the national team call-up to focus on meeting specific contractual criteria for a purchase clause in his loan agreement.

While Maresca is uncertain about the accuracy of reports from Ghana, he welcomes the prospect and mentions that Fatawu’s exclusion from the national team was communicated to him on Sunday night. The reasons behind this decision remain unclear, with Maresca expressing uncertainty about whether Fatawu and the national team manager had discussed and mutually agreed on the matter.