Roberto Martinez is pleased to see Ghana and Christian Atsu qualify for the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals – even though it means the Everton boss will be without the winger for Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace.
Atsu put in a man of the match performance in the Black Stars’ 2-1 victory over South Arica on Tuesday - a result which set up a last-eight clash against Guinea on Sunday.
Ghana’s opponents were determined by the unusual method of drawing lots after Guinea and Mali had finished with identical records in Group D having drawn all three pool matches 1-1.
Atsu has played in all three of Ghana’s games at the tournament and Martinez believes the on-loan Chelsea man will eventually return to Finch Farm having benefitted significantly from a lot of football in a short space of time.
Martinez said: “We all felt that Christian has been developing and growing a lot, even though he hasn’t been able to play a lot of games [for Everton]. We’ve seen his progress and how he is adapting with everything he does in training, so it was no surprise to see him doing so well against South Africa.
“He did really well with a team that was under massive pressure with the expectations that they have. Losing the first game put them in a situation where there was no room for mistakes.
“On Tuesday, after going 1-0 down, Christian performed at a high level. We are excited for him, even though that means he is going to be away longer.
“I have always been very excited about Christian having a really strong second half of the season and I think the proof is the way he has been playing with Ghana.”