John Paintsil discusses Sulley Muntari’s importance for Hearts of Oak

Former Fulham player John Paintsil states that Sulley Muntari will provide leadership to Hearts of Oak after joining the Ghana Premier League champions.

The former AC Milan and Inter Milan midfielder have returned to club football after agreeing to a short-term contract, which was revealed on Tuesday.

He joins former Sunderland and Ghana great Asamoah Gyan in returning to the Ghana Premier League.

“Muntari is a leader and he is someone who doesn’t like defeat and the Hearts players have to understand that sometimes when they see him shouting and pushing them, they shouldn’t take it to heart,” Paintsil told Joy Sports.

“All the Hearts of Oak players will look up to him and they’ll be expecting his leadership qualities that will help them.

“Players might feel intimidated that ‘he’s Muntari’, so they cannot tell him when there’s a mistake, but Muntari is a professional player and understands everybody,”

“People who don’t know him think he’s someway but when you’re close to him, you’ll see the kind of great person he is. Aside from being a good footballer, he’s also a great human being.”

Muntari had remained inactive since leaving Spanish second division club Albacete in 2019.

Prior to that, he had previously played for Deportivo La Coruna in Spain, Udinese and Pescara in Italy, Sunderland and Portsmouth in England, and Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.

“He [Muntari] hasn’t featured for two years but whether two or four, if you see Muntari now you’ll be amazed,” Paintsil added.

“We train every Saturday night, we play two hours nonstop and he’s able to play all those hours and he’s doing well, running up and down and shooting as usual.

“He’s a hitter, he hits from 40-yards and is still scoring goals. So, I don’t think him being without a club for two years will affect his play for Hearts. It will never have any impact on him, I know he’s fit.

“I have confidence in Muntari coming in to play for Hearts. It’s amazing, I wish him all the best and I can’t wait to see him on the field.” he concluded.