Soccer <\/p>\n
Manu Duah<\/a> got drafted. Then, he disappeared.<\/p>\n Fans could be forgiven for having forgotten about Duah. The first overall pick<\/a> in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, he was lauded as usual. Shortly after, San Diego FC<\/a> shut him down.<\/p>\n SDFC scout Brian Cronin had put Duah forward as the type of player who could be the then-expansion club\u2019s first-ever draft pick. But even when Duah was at the MLS Combine, San Diego wanted him to rest to make sure a lingering knee issue was totally right. He didn\u2019t train in preseason. He didn\u2019t debut until the summer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n There\u2019s no missing Duah now; he rarely disappears from a match. The 20-year-old defender is a commanding presence at the back for San Diego, finishing the 2025 campaign with more than 1,000 minutes, placing No. 15 on the annual 22 Under 22 list<\/a> and starting all five of the club\u2019s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs matches last year.<\/p>\n He entered this season, which San Diego have started undefeated ahead of Matchday 5’s Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire contest with Real Salt Lake<\/a> at Snapdragon Stadium (7 pm ET | Apple TV<\/a>), as one of MLS\u2019s biggest prospects.<\/p>\n After the slow start last season, Duah entered this year ready to take on the responsibility of being one of SDFC\u2019s most dependable starters.<\/p>\n \u201cI really came into the year prepared,\u201d he told MLSsoccer.com. \u201cThe coaches had something planned for me, and I also had my own thing planned, so both of us worked together to help the team as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Duah also set several targets for himself during the offseason, including scoring his first professional goal. He checked that off the list in the first game of the year, scoring on legendary goalkeeper Keylor Navas to help SDFC to a 4-1 win<\/a> over LIGA MX grande Pumas UNAM in a 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> series San Diego advanced from.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Manu can DUAH IT ALL pic.twitter.com\/7BCtTJs1kZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n While Duah may seem like an overnight success crossing off objectives with ease, there is hard work and opportunity behind any story like his.<\/p>\n A Kumasi, Ghana native, Duah was in a program called New Life Academy, similar to the Right to Dream program SDFC are part of. Given the chance to focus solely on soccer or to pursue a pathway that blended the sport with more traditional education, Duah opted to take on more schooling.<\/p>\n That helped him move from Ghana to the U.S., where he enrolled in the Dunn School, a Santa Barbara-based boarding school with a history of producing MLS talent. Fellow top draft pick Abu Danladi also went to the school, as did Sahid Conteh, a Ventura County Fusion vet who coached Duah in college at UC Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n Dunn School \u201chelped me a lot to adapt from Ghana to the U.S. They taught me how things work in the U.S.,\u201d Duah said, bolstering his English-language skills, furthering his education and helping him navigate a pro pathway. In addition to playing with UCSB, he also played in MLS NEXT<\/a> with Santa Barbara Soccer Club.<\/p>\n When SDFC kept Duah in Southern California by selecting him with the top pick, the club expected a player who would contribute quickly, but it didn\u2019t want to rush him onto the field. And when he did take the field, it wasn\u2019t where some fans might have expected.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) December 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Tyler Heaps has a keen understanding of what it takes for a center back to make it at the top level. Before taking his current role as San Diego FC\u2019s sporting director and general manager, Heaps worked as head of analysis and insights at AS Monaco during a time in which the Ligue 1 club moved both Beno\u00eet Badiashile and Axel Disasi to Chelsea in the English Premier League. Both were also earning call-ups for the France national team.<\/p>\n In Duah, Heaps sees many of the same qualities that led that duo to the highest level of the sport. In fact, Heaps said, Duah moving abroad is something the club is already viewing as all but a certainty.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he’s a player that if he continues to grow and take steps, he can play at the highest level in the world. And I don’t say that lightly,\u201d Heaps said. \u201cWe\u2019ve already said this with Manu and his agent that it\u2019s probably not a matter of if, it\u2019s a matter of when.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he continues to play at a high level, I think it could be sooner rather than later, so it\u2019s one that we\u2019re preparing for. But, again, for us it\u2019s about making sure that Manu continues to take steps and making sure he continues to get opportunities to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of the opportunity was putting Duah at center back in the first place. While there was always the possibility for him to become a defender because of his 6-foot-4 frame and profile, he had come up playing as a No. 6. That made him a stronger player, SDFC felt, with his calmness on the ball and ability to pass out of trouble. But they also wanted to use his space-eating and aerial ability in the best possible way.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a process. We knew in the draft that he could play center back because of his ability on the ball and his calmness,\u201d Heaps said. \u201cNow, that transition happened a lot quicker because of need. He started to train quite often at center back because we had injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n A June 7 game Heaps recalls as \u201ca random international break friendly against Club Am\u00e9rica that wasn\u2019t even on television\u201d served as Duah\u2019s first start at center back, with several other SDFC players who had seen limited action in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was exceptional. He did things in that game that really opened our eyes,\u201d Heaps said. \u201cThe ability to defend space, the ability to step into midfield, the ability to attract pressure and to be able to still play high-quality passes.<\/p>\n \u201cI think from that moment and from that game, the trust started to really grow. Every time he got an opportunity, he took it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Manu \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udded Duah pic.twitter.com\/VX5wEM8Jug<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n While Duah is aware that bigger opportunities may be coming soon, he insists that right now he wants to push toward a first major trophy with SDFC.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s everyone\u2019s goal to play for a top European team, but right now I\u2019m just more focused on the season,\u201d Duah said. \u201cI\u2019ve not been thinking about that much. It\u2019s more about what you can do to help the team win games, win a trophy. I\u2019m not really focused on a European move or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n But his teammates who have played in top competitions in Europe don\u2019t expect him to stick around long. While SDFC star Anders Dreyer<\/a>, a veteran of Brighton & Hove Albion, Rubin Kazan and Anderlecht, among other stops, loves playing with Duah, he sees the opportunity the center back has to excel abroad.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s amazing. He\u2019s humble. And he\u2019s just a kid that, as I see it, is ready for maybe a bigger step in his career,\u201d Dreyer said. \u201cHe\u2019s still only 20. It\u2019s not often you see a center back like him so mature at that age. It\u2019s so nice to play with him because he\u2019s very good with the ball as well. We need that in this system. He can find me, for example, in the pocket with good passes.\u201d<\/p>\n A European club might not be the only team outside of San Diego to find Duah a useful addition. He\u2019s yet to have any contact with Ghana manager Otto Addo, but many fans of the Black Stars are tracking his progress and wondering if Duah could be a helpful addition ahead of this summer\u2019s 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully I get a chance to display myself for my country,\u201d Duah said. \u201cYes, I would do it. If not, I\u2019m still just doing what I do best, focusing on the present and doing as much as I can do right now. I haven\u2019t heard anything from anyone, but if I do, I\u2019d gladly be down to help my country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n We got TWO on the 2\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e3Under 2\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e3.<\/p>\n Luca (Bombino) and Manu (Duah) Named to 2025 MLS 22 Under 22 Rankings. pic.twitter.com\/yXq0hNJC7R<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nIn full bloom<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Duah’s development<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Rising star<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Sky is the limit<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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