Ernest Nuamah is a Ghanaian left footed right winger for FC Nordsjaelland in the Danish Superligaen by way of Right to Dream. He broke out onto the scene last season with 12 goals and 4 assists in 30 matches and began this season with a hattrick against Viborg. He ended his 2022/23 campaign by debuting for the Ghana senior team on June 18th in a draw versus Madagascar.
Nuamah has an athletic build at 178 cm and is explosive with elite pace and change of direction. He is a gifted athlete that uses his hip bend for a low center of gravity to turn and explode past defenders. Mentally, his tactical understanding is way ahead of his age as he drifts into the perfect spaces to attack from given his skillset and manager instructions. Nuamah’s placement in the box is conscious of his surroundings and his sixth sense to move into the correct space wide to receive then create for himself and others are both parts of his game not to be overlooked.
On ball, Nuamah takes on his marker at a high speed with explosion in his movement. After receiving wide on the right wing, he tends to line up his marker, stalking them slowly at first before bursting inside with a flash. He gets past the first defender with ease most times and follows that up with tight technical dribbling to get past another or draw a foul as he carries toward box on an inverted solo run. Due to his confidence in dribbling, Nuamah can tend to overdribble as he makes his way past the defense into the final third and that is the main reason he gets dispossessed. His technical dribbling also helps in the box to keep him on ball under pressure with quick moves around defenders.
When finishing, Nuamah is terrific using his dominant left foot. Whether shooting from either post inside the box or from distance, the bend on his lefty shots manages to challenge the goalkeeper consistently. He puts just enough power behind it while placing it with a nasty curve to make it difficult to save. Additionally, the momentum he brings with him when cutting in from the wing brings an extra unpredictability on his shots to make blocks hard on the defense and saves for the goalkeeper tougher. Nuamah can shoot with his weak foot, too, not with the success rate of his left, but good enough to get the job done when the angle calls for it, especially in close. There is a bit of aerial ability to him in the box coming back post for headers, though it is something he must improve upon.
Off ball, it was previously noted his intelligence in space when receiving short on the wing or in tight areas like the box. Nuamah’s other impressive movement is in transition. He reacts quickly up the right flank to begin his run to attempt to catch the defense out with his timing and blazing pace. This will get him into trouble with offside calls, but he sticks with it with his hard-working, high-tempo mentality. When Nuamah makes the most of these runs, his speed to stretch the wing is difficult for defenders to keep up with as he carries toward the final third to create short with his left as he begins to bend his solo run inside.
A main weakness he can improve upon is his creation. He does well with it in tight spaces in the box when there is pressure to make quick decisions on ball, but in open play Nuamah is usually conservative and does not get too creative. His vision as he cuts inside from the right could be better, though he has shown some decent ability to cross with his left when given the opportunity, something that happens more often when called up to the national team. As he improves as a distributor, that will just be another dynamic to his skillset that clubs must gameplan for.
Defensively, his output comes mostly in the press, utilizing his explosive speed to close out quickly and force back passes and rush decisions. Nuamah is also active in attempting to cut out passing lanes and will drop back into defense to cover the wing if needed, too.
Tactically, Ghana’s athletic winger will work best utilizing his pace and wide ability in high pressing, counterattacking systems where he can work the touchline short and time runs in behind to bend toward the box. Width at his next club will be key, as he is not much of an inside forward despite his volume of scoring. Ajax is reportedly interested; they could do worse than signing €15M-rated 19-year-old. Nuamah fits their style and typical age profile, while being a natural next step in development for him.
In sum, Nuamah is an explosive, pacy athlete with elite technical dribbling at Superligaen level and top finishing ability for his position. The sky is truly the limit for him, and Ajax could be the perfect next step from the list of suitors after his services that includes PSG and AC Milan. Success in Eredivisie could see Nuamah reach his ceiling as a Champions League right winger very soon.