After 11 weeks of wait, the most watched league in the world, the English Premier League began, with all its splendor and excitement.

The acquisition of new strikers by the top clubs dominated the headlines with observers keen to see which club made the best decision in the market.

From the Ghanaian angle, 5 of our players [as at now] will be featuring on a weekly basis for the clubs. The Ayew brothers (Jordan and Dede), Christian Atsu, Daniel Amartey and Jeffrey Schlupp will be under the scrutiny of Ghanaians.

Their form will be essential to helping the Black Stars with the faint hopes of reaching a fourth successive World Cup.

Here, we assess their performance of the players after the first match day.

DANIEL AMARTEY

The position of the Ghana defender at Leicester is still uncertain and the signing of Harry Maguire has pushed him down the pecking order for a role as a central defender. At the Emirates, he started on the bench and came on in the 75th minute to replace Shinji Okazaki. Amartey lined up alongside Matty James and Wilfred Ndidi in midfield as Craig Shakespeare looked to hold on to their lead. His inclusion failed to make an impact for the team as the Foxes went ahead to concede 2 more after his inclusion. With Danny Drinkwater yet to return from injury and Vincente Iborra also in the frame, Amartey must put in a greater shift to increase his minutes on the field.

JORDAN AYEW

He was tasked to add goals to his industrious nature as Paul Clement identified him as an important piece to his project at Swansea. Ayew lasted the entire duration in their 0-0 draw with Southampton at St. Mary’s and he worked his socks off as was expected. Ayew run down the channels and led the line effectively alongside Tony Abraham. A good first day outing for Jordan but he will need the goals to complete his all round play.

JEFFREY SCHLUPP

Frank de Boer opted for a 3-4-2-1 formation and thus there was only one place on the left flank. The Dutch coach gave Dutchman Patrick van Aaanholt the nod and he lasted the entire duration. Thus, Schlupp was an unused substitute in their 3-0 hammering at home to newly promoted Huddersfield Town.

CHRISTIAN ATSU

Atsu played the entire duration of Newcastle’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham at St. James’ Park. The winger started on the left flank in Rafa Benitez’s preferred 4-4-1-1 formation. Atsu was lively on his flank on the occasions Newcastle went on the counter with the Magpies largely focused on defensive positioning and keeping Spurs at bay. He completed 2 out of 4 take-ons but his task was made more difficult after Jonjo Shelvey was sent off. Newcastle offered little going forward after the sending and Atsu saw little of the ball but there were signs he could finally make a breakthrough in the league.

DEDE AYEW

Second straight opening day defeat for Ayew and West Ham after losing 2-1 to Chelsea last year. The only positive for the offensive midfielder was he came through without an injury but his overall performance and that of the team was a cause for worry. West Ham were played off the park and offered next to nothing going forward with United dominant in the middle of the park. He started on the right flank in Slaven Bilic’s 4-2-3-1 formation. Ayew managed only 30 passes in 90 minutes and this was largely down to the fact that the Hammers saw little of the ball. An opening day to forget yet again for Ayew.