Ghana’s Elisha Owusu shares how a surprise French footballer helped him

Retired France international Bafetimbi Gomis played with Andre Dede Ayew in England when the Ghanaian first moved to England.

The two were rivals in France, with the Ghanaian playing for Olympique Marseille while Gomis played for Olympique Lyonnais. They later became teammates at Swansea City before Gomis departed for Turkey to join Galatasaray.

They’ve been maintained a good friendship since with Dede Ayew wishing the French striker a happy retirement when announced that he’s hanging his boots in November 2024.

However, it appears Gomis is inspiring another Ghana international to find his goalscoring boots.

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Black Stars and Auxerre midfielder Elisha Owusu recently shared how Gomis has impacted his improved goal contributions this season.

Owusu contributed to only three goals – one goal and two assists, in 33 matches during Auxerre’s 2023/24 promotion campaign from Ligue 2. That has improved to four with one goal and three assists in 26 Ligue 1 appearances this season.

Elisha Owusu shares Gomis’ advice

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Flashscore, the 27-year-old midfielder gave credit to Gomis for aiding him to see the game in different light.

Before the season, I spoke to Bafetimbi Gomis, who is like a big brother, and he told me, ‘Eli, you need to exhibit more.’ He told me to write down my targets and think about them every time I play. Since then, my mindset has changed.

I told myself I can bring more to the team, so I tried to do my best each game. I’m glad I could help with some goals and assists.

Aside this, he admits that his team’s mentality has also changed this campaign. Auxerre are 10th on the Ligue 1 standings with 41 points accumulated from 32 games.

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With two goals to close the season, they are safe from relegation.