Arsenal midfield star Thomas Partey has been dropped from Ghana’s Black Stars’ squad for their crucial Group F AFCON 2025 qualifiers against Angola and Niger Republic.

Head Coach Otto Addo confirmed Partey’s exclusion, revealing that his choice was influenced by private conversations aimed at protecting the player.

Addo, while addressing the media, emphasised his commitment to maintaining confidentiality regarding specific details of the discussions but provided insight into the factors guiding his decision.

“I had a confidential talk with Thomas. I am the coach who always wants to protect the players,” Addo explained.

“The whole point for me was getting the understanding. I am not going to tell you the internal issues, but I made it quite clear to him; he wanted to come, but I made it quite clear why he’s not coming.”

Addo’s comments suggest that Partey’s exclusion was a mutual understanding reached between the two, with the coach reaffirming that this decision was driven by undisclosed reasons.

“Like I said, it is confidential, so it’s difficult for me to mention all the things, so maybe we have to move on,” he added, indicating that the matter is settled.

The absence of Partey, a key figure in the Black Stars squad, has also led to adjustments in the team’s leadership structure.

Addo shared that there had initially been plans to make Partey the captain, a role that would position him as a guiding figure for the team.

“The initiative was to make Thomas the captain of the team and for him to guide the team, to lead the team,” Addo stated.

With Partey’s absence, however, Addo turned to younger players to step into leadership roles.

“After the talks with Thomas… I had to talk to Kudus. For him, I think he’s still young; he needs to grow into that role.”

Addo confirmed that defender Alexander Djiku and midfielder Mohammed Kudus had been appointed to assist Partey previously, but Jordan Ayew is taking up the captaincy in Partey’s absence.

The Black Stars are in danger of missing next year’s AFCON in Morocco after loing two and drawing two of their fixtures.

The four-time AFCON winners are in third place and need Sudan to drop to stand a chance of qualifying.