Osman Bukari: Gent and Ghaanian winger explains Anderlecht failure 

Ghanaian winger Osman Bukari believes he was let down by complacency during his time with Belgian giants Anderlecht in 2018.

In his first stint abroad, the attacker, now with Gent following a summer move, joined Anderlecht on loan from local side Accra Lions.

After six months with the Purple and White, the 21-year-old headed for Slovakian outfit Trencin after failing to land a permanent deal with the former.

“I had a hard time there [at Anderlecht] in the beginning,” Bukari admits, Ghanaweb reports.

“I thought I could achieve anything with my talent. But I was a bit lazy. There I learned that I also had to work hard.

“I played nine matches with the reserves, in which I scored six times. When I heard at the end of those six months that I did not get a contract, I was disappointed, because I really wanted to play football in Europe.

“But then my manager came up with Trencin. The first year I still had a hard time. I had to adapt to the playing style. Sometimes I was so fast that I had to wait at the front for a counterattack until my fellow players could join.

“But I told myself that I was only with Trencin to get better and move to bigger competition. Last season I scored 10 goals in 25 games. Not bad for a winger.”

After two years away, Bukari returned to Belgium in October this year, signing a three-year deal with Gent after catching the eye with a series of fine performances for Trencin.

He was reportedly on the radar of Portuguese giants FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon as well as the Turkish trio of Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas before opting for the Buffalos.

Bukari made a combined 32 league appearances for Trencin. He had arguably his best time in Europe since leaving Ghana last season as he made 26 elite division outings, starting all the games, scoring 10 times and assisting nine other goals.

Yet to be called by Ghana at senior level, the attacker helped his nation qualify for the 2019 Africa U23 Cup of Nations in Egypt, but was unable to join the team for the final tournament due to club commitments.