News of Fatawu Issahaku starting Sporting CP's first pre-season game against Belgium side Royale Union was exciting, especially for Ghanaian fans.

The game kicked off just hours after Trincao joined Sporting CP on a season-long loan from FC Barcelona. A singing which would essentially affect Issahaku because it meant four different players could potentially fight for the right wing spot; Trincao, Edwards, Issahaku and Pote.

But Fatawu had an advantage and that was the fact that he was starting against Royale Union and had the opportunity to make an instant impact.

The only issue was that the 18-year-old was not starting in a familiar advanced role. Issahaku played as a left wing back in a 3-4-3 formation.

Time and time again, the Ghanaian looked out of place as he struggled to make a mark on the game. The positive news is that Sporting CP's technical team views Issahaku as a young player with a lot of raw talent to succeed as a left wing back but will need some fine-tuning.

Currently, the right wing is choked with similar young profiles and the feeling is the former Dreams FC player will get a lot more game time if he can adapt to the left wing back role.

Fatawu Issahaku played in a completely new role in a pre-season game against Royale Union on Wednesday.

Here’s an explanation of his role and how he fared.

A THREAD pic.twitter.com/7Yp2LdwAI1

— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) July 13, 2022

Historically, this won't be the first time Ghana has seen its player switch roles with Derek Boateng (striker to central midfielder) and Kwadwo Asamoah (central midfielder to left back).

Issahaku was signed by Sporting CP on a five-year contract with a release clause of 60 million euros in April earlier this year. Prior to signing officially Issahaku had been at the club since February and had been training with the youth sides. It was widely reported the winger will be promoted to the senior team ahead of the 2022/23 season.