After an eventful period, Kamaldeen has finally made his decision and donned the colors of Stade Rennais, ignoring Dutch champions Ajax in the process.

The 19-year-old had been a subject of huge transfer speculation with names such as Manchester United and Liverpool among others added to the mix.

However, the former Nordsjaelland man will nurture his talents in Ligue 1 next season after putting pen to paper on a five-year deal with his fee amounting to €15 million; a heavy profit made by his former club.

While the figure is impressive, where does his transfer fee rank among other biggest Ghanaian transfers to European clubs since 2012?

Players ahead of Kamaldeen

Five Ghanaians have commanded higher fees than the talented winger in the last decade and one of them are attackers.

The vice captain of the Black Stars, Thomas Partey, unsurprisingly heads the list after completing a blockbuster €50 million move to Arsenal the previous summer.

André Ayew, the current captain of the senior national team, takes spot two and three. André commanded a total of €46.9 million in transfers during a three-year span (2016-2018).

Abdul Baba Rahman, currently a player for Chelsea, was one of the highly rated left-backs in the world after his amazing output in the 2014/15 season for Augsburg in the Bundesliga.

He attempted 108 tackles, the most in the league with an 83% success rate whilst making 83 interceptions and winning 80 aerial duels.

Chelsea decided to acquire him during the summer window in 2015. After a rough start to life in London, he was loaned to a number of teams with the previous stop being Greek side PAOK. He was successful there but could move yet again before the window closes.

Kwadwo Asamoah is the last person ahead of Kamaldeen following his big move to Juventus in 2012. He started his senior career with Udinese during the 2008/09 season where he steadily earned his place as an important first team player. Juventus recruited the midfielder after his impressive displays.

The 32-year-old won six Serie A titles with the Bianconeri. He moved to his current club Inter Milan on a free transfer in 2018. Asamoah is now without a club after a short stint with Cagliari.

The numbers behind top ten Ghanaian transfers

€202.7 million was spent by European clubs to acquire the top ten transfers in the last decade.

Thomas Partey’s blockbuster 50 million move to Arsenal last summer makes up 24.67% of the total expenditure.

André Ayew appeared on the list on two occasions. The Black Stars captain first earned a €24.10 million move to West Ham in August 2016 and two years after, completed a €22.80 million switch from the Hammers to Swansea City. His figures combined make up 23.14%.

Abdul Baba Rahman also commanded a huge outlay in 2015. The left-back was signed by Chelsea for €20 million after his impressive displays in Germany. His amount takes up 9.87%,

In Italy, Kwadwo Asamoah and Alfred Duncan make up the top two among Ghanaians. Asamoah’s showing convinced Juventus to pay €18 million for him in 2012 and Fiorentina agreed a €15 million obligatory fee for Duncan. Asamoah accounts for 8.88% and Duncan’s figure takes up 7.40%.

Jeffrey Schlupp’s €13.80 million transfer to Crystal Palace takes 6.81% and whilst the moves of Jordan Ayew to Aston Villa in 2015 and Mohammed Salisu to Southampton in 2020 makes up 5.92% each out of the total expenditure.

It is interesting to note that three countries have spent on these players; England, Italy and France. It is no surprise that England tops the list, acquiring six players on the list. Italy and France have acquired three players combined.

English clubs spent €154.7 million on those six players with Italy spending €33 million and France spending €15 million. This means that English clubs have spent 4.69 times more than Italian clubs on the top ten players and spent over 10 times more than France.

What to expect from Kamaldeen

Just like Asamoah Gyan gave the Rennes fans hope with his €8 million move in 2008, Rennes fans can hope again.

The 19-year-old has proven to be a speedster and a skillful dribbler, a laudable trait required of wingers in the modern game.

Kamaldeen could form a partnership with Jeremy Doku, another young dribbler with Ghanaian roots on the opposite wing. The former Nordsjaelland man’s value of €9 million is still far away from Partey’s €40 million value on Transfermarkt.

However, the youngster has a lot of time on his side to make his mark. Who knows? He could make a dream transfer to Manchester United for close to €100 million in a few seasons if he consistently performs at a high level.