Mohammed Abu

Mohammed Abu (born 14 November 1991) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for San Antonio FC in the USL Championship.

He previously played for Strømsgodset, Rayo Vallecano, Lorient, Columbus Crew SC, and Vålerenga, and also spent time with Manchester City, Eintracht Frankfurt, and AGF.

Abu has appeared for the Ghana national team.

After playing youth football with Sporting Club Accra, Abu signed for English side Manchester City on 31 August 2010.

Abu made his professional debut against Molde on 13 September 2010, coming on as a 60th-minute substitute, in a 3–1 loss.

Abu appeared as an unused substitute in the Norwegian Football Cup Final against Follo, as the club won 2–0.

He was immediately loaned to Norwegian club Strømsgodset until June 2011.

This was due to Abu failing to get a work permit to allow him to play in England.

At the start of the 2011 season, his performances saw him being named in the league's Team of the Week on two occasions.

On 29 June 2011, his loan deal with Strømsgodset was extended until December 2011.

On 16 October 2011, he scored his first goal for Strømsgodset, in a 1–1 draw against Sogndal.

Despite missing three matches throughout the 2011 season, Abu went on to make twenty–eight appearances and score once in all competitions.

In October 2011, Abu signed a new contract with Manchester City, until June 2014.

In January 2012, he joined German 2. Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on loan.

Without playing a match, Abu, again, was transferred to Strømsgodset at the end of March.

Despite Strømsgodset's best effort to keep the player, it was announced on 12 June 2012 that Abu would be leaving the club at the end of June.

Following this, Abu was expecting to join Belgian side Anderlecht.

Instead, he joined Spanish club Rayo Vallecano on loan on 29 August 2012.

Abu made his debut for the club, starting and playing 57 minutes before being substituted, in a 3–2 loss against Espanyol.

However, Abu suffered a muscle discomfort a month later.

In early–January, he returned to his parent club, having made three appearances in all competitions.

Abu joined French club Lorient on loan for the rest of the 2012–13 season on 1 February 2013.

He made his debut for the club against Évian Thonon Gaillard, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss on 16 February 2013.

When his loan spell at FC Lorient came to an end, Abu signed a loan deal until on 31 December 2013 with Danish club AGF on 2 September 2013.

However, his time at the club saw the player make no appearances.

On 18 December 2013, AGF announced that the club would not be extending his loan spell.

On 21 February 2014, Abu joined Norwegian side Strømsgodset again, this time on a permanent deal and signed a four–year contract with the club.

However ahead of the 2014 season, he suffered an injury that it was thought could see him ruled out of the start of the season but he managed to make a recovery from injury.

Abu played in both legs of the club's first ever UEFA Champions League match against Steaua București, as Strømsgodset lost 3–0 on aggregate.

Despite missing two more matches later in the 2014 season, due to suspensions, Abu went on to make thirty appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2015 season, he scored his first goal for the club – his first goal in three years for Strømsgodset – in a 5–0 win against FK Tønsberg in the first round of the Norwegian Cup on 22 April 2015.

Abu played in every match following the start of the 2015 season until he was sent–off for a second bookable offence, in a 3–2 loss against Stabæk on 27 June 2015.

After the match, manager Bjørn Petter Ingebretsen criticised Abu's sending off, saying the player "was tackled in the leg, he was on the ball, and he bleeds like that."

Despite missing two more matches later in the 2015 season, he made thirty–six appearances, scoring twice in all competitions.

During the 2016 season, Abu's performances attracted interest from Major League Soccer clubs, who were considering signing him for the following season.

In response, he refused to respond over his future at Strømsgodset.

During a 2–0 win against Rosenborg on 30 October 2016, Abu suffered a knee injury and was substituted in the 19th minute, in what turned out to be his last appearance for the club.

Despite being absent three times throughout the 2016 season, he went on to make thirty–three appearances in all competitions.

On 24 January 2017, Abu moved to America, where he joined Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew SC as a Special Discovery Player.

He made his debut for the club in the opening game of the season against Chicago Fire, playing 76 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–1 draw.