Dependable centre back, Awal Mohammed is expected to leave Ghana for South Africa on Tuesday for medicals at Premier Soccer League (PSL) club Maritzburg United of South Africa.

Administrative Manager, Benjamin Nti confirmed this in an interview with Kotoko Express over the weekend. The former All Stars defender has been in fantastic form since joining Kumasi Asante Kotoko in the second round of the 2010/2011 season.

Not surprisingly, Awal Mohammed won the Premier League Board’s (PLB) Best Defender Award in June this year.

The invitation by the South African club who are trained by ex-Kotoko coach, Ernst Middendorp and are nicked named ‘The Team of Choice’ has come as no surprise to many.

Meanwhile, Asante Kotoko's International Relations consultant, Kwame Amoa Baah Nuakoh, has told Kotoko Express that much as defender Awal Mohamed is an important player in the Kotoko set-up, it must be noted that his absence will not negatively affect the fortunes of the club in the coming season.

Chatting through the social network platform, Facebook, Kwame, who is doing his PHD in Sports Economics in Scotland, allayed the fears that many have started expressing since news broke of Awal’s imminent trip to the Republic of South Africa.

However, for the late arrival of his invitation thereby culminating in delays in getting a visa, Awal is expected to be in South Africa soon where he is billed for medicals with Meritzburg FC, which is currently coached by a former Kotoko coach, Ernst Middendorp.

“Kotoko has finished with all negotiations with Meritzburg FC and what is left is for the player to meet the medical standards of the South African club. When that is done, it will be a done deal for us to release the player to his new employers,” he said.

Kwame says he has since last week monitored almost all the online Ghanaian radio stations and it was clear that most fans were not comfortable with the sale of Awal, sitting the need to get the team in place for the upcoming Africa campaigns.

“Much as the fans may have points in all their assertions, it was important to let the world also know that Kotoko as an institution has a policy of not holding on to any player against their desire to travel out in pursuit of their dreams”.

“Moreover, it is always important that as a club, you are able to sell out your players to very good international sides. It first puts the club’s name on the international transfer market thereby getting more attention and also gives the remaining players in the team the confidence to perform better so as to also attract similar or even bigger offers”.

“As per the worry of the fans,  management will like to assure them that a suitable replacement is being brought and the fans will love it when the names are announced soon”.

“We are not oblivious of the fact that Kotoko has bigger plans for the coming season and so all the recruitment of management has been done with a clear understanding that the players coming will be able to play in Africa when the competition begins,”.

Though Kwame did not drop names of the ‘suitable replacements’ he kept on assuring that the players being brought in have the temperament to stand up and be counted as Kotoko players.