Nigerian striker of Ghanaian descent close to signing with Aktobe

The 26-year-old Niger national team striker, who previously played for Ukrainian side Kryvbas, may soon be heading to Kazakhstan. But what do we know about Aktobe's potential new signing?

Details: Amid recent rumors of Daniel Sosa's transfer, Kazakhstani portal Sports24.kz reached out to someone who knows Daniel extremely well—having coached him for a considerable stretch of his career.

As you might have guessed, we're talking about former Kryvbas head coach Yuriy Vernydub, who worked with Sosa over the last two seasons. Yuriy gave an honest assessment when asked by journalists about Daniel Sosa's profile:

“First and foremost, Daniel is a wonderful person. He represents Niger, though as far as I know, he’s actually Ghanaian by origin, so he speaks English well. In terms of work ethic and discipline, he’s a true professional. Very sociable: over two seasons here, he picked up both Ukrainian and Russian. He always understood what I expected from him.

When Sosa first joined Kryvbas, he mostly played on the wing, but in recent months I’ve used him as a central striker. He’s powerful, athletic, and won’t give up the ball easily. I wouldn’t say he’s super technical, but he uses his body well to keep possession. However, his biggest drawback is finishing—he struggles with conversion. He gets plenty of chances during a match, but Daniel only puts away a fraction of them, which is why he didn’t score as many as I had hoped. Still, at times he could decide the outcome single-handedly or provide a key assist,” the coach said.

26-year-old Sosa joined Kryvbas in March 2023, at a time when Ukraine was already embroiled in conflict due to Russian military aggression. Since then, Daniel has made 51 appearances for Kryvbas, scoring 5 goals and providing 8 assists. His current contract with the Ukrainian club expires in just a few days and, as is known, will not be renewed—allowing Sosa to leave as a free agent.

Reminder: Nine contenders for the 2026 World Cup have been included in the expanded U.S. entry ban list announced by Trump