Brandon Barker sold Thomas Agyepong on Hibs loan move

Thomas Agyepong has revealed how he was sold on a move to Hibs after being given the thumbs up by former team-mate Brandon Barker.
Thomas AgyepongThomas Agyepong
Thomas Agyepong

Manchester City winger Barker spent last season on loan at Easter Road and after being offered the chance to follow in his footsteps by the English champions, Agyepong turned to him for the lowdown on the Capital club.

Agyepong and Barker were team-mates together at Dutch side NAC Breda when loaned out by City and now the Ghana international is hoping he can enjoy just as successful a time in Edinburgh.

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The 21-year-old said: “When I heard the club wanted to give me an opportunity to prove myself, I spoke to Brandon and he told me I will love it because when he was here he really loved it and enjoyed himself.

“It’s good for a mate to give you that kind of positive comment. I was with him in the Netherlands before and when he came here he told me the set-up was great, he played and lot of games and the fans liked him. He told me the coach likes players who are direct and like to take players on.

“I thought ‘okay’, I can enjoy coming here and working with him. I have heard he is demanding, but every manager is. At the end of the day they want results. It was the same in the Netherlands. It’s no like academy football where it’s about development, it’s about winning games because their jobs are on the line.

“Brandon did well and that’s my goal, to achieve something. I’m here to do my bit and give my contribution to the team. I think Brandon and I are similar players. We like to take players on – we like to create chances, to score goals and contribute to the outcome of the team.”

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Agyepong admitted the delay in gaining a work permit had been frustrating, revealing he had hoped to have forced his way into Lennon’s plans by now rather than have a seat on the bench in last week’s Betfred Cup tie against Ross County be his only involvement.

He said: “It has taken a little longer than I thought it would be because I came here to do my medical and I was expecting to come in and play some games. But at the end of the day they did what they were supposed to do so I had to have patience.

“I was training in Manchester so it wasn’t as if I wasn’t doing anything. I was still training to keep myself fit.”