Hearts of Oak coach Aboubakar Ouattara will only sign "exceptional quality"

The Ivorian former Asante Kotoko coach took charge of the Ghana Premier League side in February this year.

He was employed as a replacement for caretaker coach Abdul Bashiru, who had been handed temporary charge of the club following Martinus Koopman's departure.

With just five games of the current season left to play, the Phobians find themselves in 11th place with 38 points from 29 games played.

They are looking to strengthen for the upcoming campaign, but only if incoming players match the quality of players already at the club, like Ghanaian defender Michael Ampadu, explained Ouattara.

The head coach said on Ghanasoccernet: "I want to be absolutely clear: if I am signing a player for Hearts of Oak, they must be of exceptional quality. 

"If a player's abilities are on par with those of Ampadu, that's acceptable, but if they're not, I see no reason to sign them. After all, I already have a player of that caliber.

"If a player's skills are equivalent to Ampadu's, I question the need to sign them. I am not interested in signing players who are below the level of my current squad. If I'm looking for academy players, I would turn to Auroras players."