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Christian Atsu was 12 years old when, following the sudden death of his father, he declared: 'I'm either going to be a doctor or a footballer'.

Even today, 13 years on and sitting inside Newcastle United's training ground in the wake of promotion to the Premier League, you can sense Atsu's regret at his father's passing in a poverty-stricken part of Ghana.

What it did do is serve as motivation for a boy who could have been lost to the streets of Ada Foah, the hometown where he played football in his bare feet until being spotted by scouts from Feyenoord's west African academy.