Former Ghana U17 superstar Ishmael Yartey has emerged as the only African player to have won the Player of the Year award at Finnish side KPV Kokkola in the last 15 years.
The 31-year-old spent just the second-half of the 2019 season at the Kokkolan Keskuskenttä yet managed to win the top gong award at the club.
KPV were in dire need of a rescuer as their season geared off to a false start and the former Benfica starlet arrived on the scene.
Yartey scored a total of 6 league goals in 11 outings for the KPV and became one of the most sought after players in the Finnish top division.
KPV unveiled a list of 20 players who have won the Player of the Year award at the club in the last 20 years and Yartey is the only African player to have won the award since Gambian Dawda Bah won the award in 2006.
Yartey was capped 18 times by Ghana at the U17 level and scored thrice and earned a call up to the Ghana senior national team in 2012 for the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Lesotho.
He has featured for clubs like Sochaux, Servette, FC Sion, Gil Vicente and American side Portland Timbers.
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