Lawrence Lartey: The Ghanaian who is quietly playing his way to the top

In Lawrence Lartey, Ajax Cape Town have a natural-born leader and an accomplished youth international.

The talented defender was nurtured in the Ghanaian youth structures - having played for the Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 national teams.

Lartey, who began his football career at FC Nania in his home country nearly 10 years ago, captained Ghana at the 2013 U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.

Under Lartey's leadership, the Black Satellites reached the final where they narrowly lost to Egypt U20 on penalties following a 1-1 stalemate in Algeria.

Lartey was named in the Team of the Tournament with Black Satellites subsequently booking their place at the 2013 U20 FIFA World Cup finals in Turkey.

Once again Lartey led his nation to the knockout stages, but this time they finished third and collected bronze medals at the global competition.

The Accra-born player was at the time playing for Ghanaian Premier League outfit AshantiGold, after captaining Nania to a historic Ghanaian FA Cup and Super Cup double in 2011.

Success followed Lartey to AshantiGold as he won the 2014/2015 Ghanaian Premier League title with the club and he also captained the team.

In September 2015, he deservedly made his senior international debut during Ghana's 3-2 away win over Congo-Brazzaville in an international friendly.

European and African clubs had taken notice of Lartey's special talent, but Ajax moved swiftly to sign the defender on a two-year deal two months later.

Lartey, 22, was quick to establish himself in the Ajax starting line-up as he made 14 starts in the second round of the 2015-16 Absa Premiership campaign.

The former Ghana U23 captain remains an important member of Urban Warriors team under Dutch tactician Stanley Menzo.

Source: Ajaxtc.co.za