Hassan Abdalla deserved Kenya squad call up

The Harambee Stars squad for the African Cup of Nations has been named.

Coach Sebastian Migne settled on a group that he himself thoroughly sampled both from the domestic league and foreign leagues which he believes is capable of doing duty for our beloved country.

However this did not go down without murmurs, with some sections of fans feeling disenfranchised because some of the players chosen, according to them, did not merit and some left out deserved a slot in the provisional squad.

However, this a story for another day because my main focus for today is our mercurial speed demon Hassan Abdalla, Bandari's stand out player for the last two seasons.

His growth goes way back in 2014 under the tutelage of his high school coaches Swale Sunda and Ken Sitati at Green Palms Academy.

Abdalla showed the promise of a gem that was on the verge of explosion to the national stage if not international stage.

The two coaches are credited with the identification of a talent at an early stage and developing it into one of the hottest property in the football market at the Coast.

Abdallah’s star shone early in 2014 when the prodigious talent captained Green Palms Academy to qualify for their first ever national games in Kakamega after dethroning perennial winners Tononoka High School. From then on this talent has blossomed like a fish in water.

An objective analysis of the squad paints an even promising prospect for this speedster in comparison to his competition in the national squad.

Abdalla is a player that can play on left side of the attack.

His speed and agility, deft touches and eye for goal makes him a dangerous player.

He is a player who should not only be in the provisional squad but in the final list that will travel to Egypt next month, in my honest opinion.

Today, Bandari ticks because of the huge impact this young lad has had a fact that should never be overlooked when naming the final squad.

A closer look at players like Masoud Juma, Paul Were, Ayub Timbe gives a clear picture of why Hassan should be considered.

In as much as the other players are equally good and extremely talented, they have not been that outstanding in the last two years.

player like Masoud Juma has been globe trotting from the PSL in South Africa to the Middle East, his goals return hasn’t been that impressive, while Ayub Timbe has had a long injury layoff and as such I believe he will not be at optimal levels when the games begin.

Paul Were has been active at Leopards after his Greek contract expired, but his impact has not been hugely felt thus it is for this reason that we believe Abdalla deserves a slot in the final squad.

For a team that currently occupies position two on the Premier League table, picking only one player from its squad — goalkeeper Farouk Shikalo — in the provisional squad is not convincing enough.

Bandari deserves more players in the national team and Abdalla should be the addition, surely.