Togo is taking over England

Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. The tiny country of Togo has only a couple players in top European leagues, with Arsenals leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor being of course the most noteworthy. But Manny has company in England…kind of. Togo midfielder Moustapha Salifou (pictured) recently signed a contract extension with Aston Villa.

The play-making midfielder who was born in the Togolese capital city of Lome, originally signed with Villa on August 31, 2007. After impressing for the reserves, Salifou was very close to cracking the lineup for the big team when a knee injury set him back. Manager Martin O’Neill seems impressed with Salifou saying, “I am happy with Moustapha and we are taking him on for the extra season. He is progressing here. Just when he looked like he was in the first team picture, he hurt his knee. It stopped him training for a few days. But he is getting back again.”

O’Neill went on to comment on the future of Saliphou and hinted that the best thing for the Togolese International might be a loan so that he can get some first team experience as opposed to being stuck with the Villa reserves. Either way, it’s good for Togolese football that Salifou is getting some positive attention. We need to see him play some top-flight football to see if he’s worthy of the nickname he has been given, ‘Togolese Zidane’. Adebayor will be the direct beneficiary of the development of Salifou as right now he is kind of a one-man show for Les Eperviers and attracts all the attention of the opposition. If Salifou can become a threat in the midfield than Togo will be more balanced and a better team overall.