CAF U-23 AFCON Qualifiers: Felix Afena-Gyan turns down Black Meteors call up for Algeria games

US Cremonese striker, Felix Afena-Gyan has turned down Black Meteors' call-up for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying games against Algeria this month.

The 20-year-old has refused to join the Black Meteors squad to face Algeria in back-to-back games despite the club's release.

The Ghana FA has communicated all travel arrangements to the Serie A club, but the player has opted not to link up with Ibrahim Tanko's squad.

“It is never true that Felix Afena-Gyan wasn't invited to the U23 team. He was among the ten foreign-based players but he declined the invitation from the GFA,” the source told Kickgh.com

“We don't know the reason behind his decision not to honour the invitation, maybe he will explain to us later. We're hoping to secure a positive result in Algeria and climax it with a qualification in Kumasi."

Afena-Gyan played a vital role in the Ghana squad that eliminated Nigeria in the 2022 World Cup qualifying playoffs in March last year. However, he failed to make it to the final World Cup tournament in Qatar after being excluded from the final squad list by Otto Addo.

In the summer, Afena-Gyan moved to newly-promoted Serie A side Cremonese from Roma for approximately US$7 million in a permanent deal. Although he has made 16 appearances in the Italian top flight, he is yet to score, with only one assist to his name.

In the Coppa Italia, however, he has managed to score twice in three matches, helping Cremonese reach the semi-finals by knocking out Napoli and Roma.

Afena-Gyan has capped seven times for the senior national team of with a goal to his credit.