Harambee Stars coach explains overlooking Moses Shumah in recent squads

Harambee Stars assistant coach Vasili Manousakis has explained why in-form striker Moses Shumah has not yet been integrated into the national team setup, despite delivering a standout season in Zambia.

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Shumah enjoyed a dream debut campaign with Power Dynamos, finishing as the Zambia Super League Golden Boot winner after scoring 21 league goals. His impact went beyond goals, as he played a central role in guiding Dynamos to the league title.

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He also enjoyed a clean sweep at the club’s end-of-season awards, being named Top Scorer, Footballer of the Year, Fans’ Player of the Season, and also picking up the Zambia Super League Fans’ Player of the Season award, underlining a season defined by consistency, influence, and match-winning performances.

Despite that form, he has yet to earn a call-up in recent Harambee Stars selections, with the technical bench instead leaning on established attacking options and Europe-based forwards during key international windows.

His early months adapting to football abroad were also cited as a factor during earlier squad decisions.

The 23-year-old's performances have, however, started attracting wider attention, with reports linking him to several moves, including South African side AmaZulu, as his stock continues to rise on the continent.

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Speaking after Kenya’s 4-0 friendly win over Lesotho, Manousakis defended the decision to overlook Shumah while highlighting the competition in attack.

“I think, unfortunately for Moses at the time, once we were going through the qualifiers, he was still finding his feet on that side, and we had Michael Olunga, we had Jonah (Ayunga) playing in Scotland, we had some tough competition up front, but certainly if he ends up at Amazulu, he'll be a fantastic asset for them,” he said.

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“There's probably a lot of interest in him, and as long as he keeps himself grounded and honest to his trade, which I'm sure he does, he'll be an asset to anybody that acquires him.”

The player in a past interview maintained that he was calm and expressed confidence that his chance would eventually come.