Why Avram Grant dropped Waris, Laweh and Dwamena

The three casualties from the Israeli's pruning his final were Majeed Waris of Lorient, Raphael Dwamena of Austria Lustenau and Joseph Attamah Laweh of İstanbul Başakşehir.

I would say that Grant was spot on in his final selection to a large extent, but many people would think otherwise, after taking a critical look at the 26-man squad he had at his disposal.

However, here's my take on why Grant made these calls.

READ MORE: Black Stars

Majeed Waris

Avram Grant’s decision to axe Waris came as a big surprise to many football loving fans, looking at his good run of form at the latter part of the first half of the season for Lorient in France. He scored in four consecutive games, after having gone several months without a goal for his side, so one would have imagined that it merited him a place in Grant’s 23-man squad.

However, we will all bear witness to the fact that Waris, whenever given the chance, has failed to the party since Avram Grant took over two years ago. Based on this, Grant's decision to give up-and-coming guys the opportunity to show what they have to offer in Waris' place is understandable.

But it is still contentious which of the existing Black Stars players Grant needed to drop in other to make way for some of the young talents. Jordan Ayew has been in poor form at Aston Villa and has even lost his starting place in the team. However, he still seems to be good books of Avram Grant, and this is understandable statistically: he has scored more goals under the Israeli gaffer than any other Black Stars player. This, predictably, makes him a trusted asset immune to sacrifice. Besides, there have been many instances of players bench warming at club level and starting at national level.

READ MORE: Africa Cup of Nations

Joseph Attamah Laweh

The 22-year-old was a surprise inclusion in Grant’s provisional squad. The former Tema Youth defender has been in an impressive form this season in the Turkish Super League with İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. His ability to play in both midfield and defence is a big asset, but in this case Grant named him as a midfielder and this inevitably made him fall short in a perking order brimming with experience and international exposure: Afriyie Acquah, Thomas Partey, Mubarak Wakaso and Agyemang Badu.

That said, I think Laweh’s inclusion in the provisional 26-man squad is motivation enough to encourage him. It's a great start to build on. He will definitely be in the team soon.

Raphael Dwamena

The youngster is undoubtedly the most consistent Ghanaian scorer in Europe, scoring 18 league goals for SC Austria Lustenau in 20 appearances this season in the Austrian second tier league. However, I think he belonged to a group of three young strikers who were all prone to sacrifice: the others being Bernard Tekpetey and Ebenezer Assifuah.

READ MORE: Ex-Black Stars Defender

I think Ebenezer Assifuah, per what he did at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2013 (winning the golden boot), and per what how he has been commanding a starting place at FC Sion, one of Switzerland's top clubs, should be finally given the opportunity to make a mark at the senior level. That's just my view, but it may have been Grant's too, judging by how he kept faith with him.

Hence, I believe Grant was finally torn between Bernard Tekpetey and Raphael Dwamena.

Many people would drop Tekpetey instead, especially looking at the top goal-scoring form of Dwamena, but Grant might have taken his decision based on the competitive nature of the Bundesliga, where Tekpetey plays, even though he has made only one appearance for Schalke 04.

Again, the 19-year-old striker has been enjoying a swift rise: only last year, he transfered from Ghana's lower tier Unistar Academy to Schalke 04 in Germany's top flight, and has since adapted and risen through the ranks so fast that he has already made a UEFA Europa League appearance.