John Cofie
John Erzuah Cofie is a retired footballer who played as a forward.
He began his career with Burnley and moved to Manchester United for a fee of £1m at the age of 14, but failed to make the break into the first-team. Following loan spells with Royal Antwerp, Sheffield United and Notts County he was released by Manchester United, joining Barnsley on a free transfer in July 2013. He never made a first-team appearance at Barnsley before joining Norwegian club Molde in August 2014. In March 2015, he returned to England, joining Crawley Town. He moved to Wrexham in November 2015. In January 2016, Cofie joined AFC Telford United before moving to Southport in June 2016.
Born in Aboso, Ghana, Cofie moved to England at a young age and has been capped by England at under-17 football team|under-17] level.
Club career
Manchester United
Cofie began his football career as a junior player with Burnley. After Burnley rejected a £250,000 bid from Liverpool for Cofie in November 2007, he refused to return to training with the club. After further interest from Chelsea, Cofie was signed by Manchester United in November 2007 and joined their Academy in July 2009. After signing professional terms with United in 2010, he continued to play for the youth side and looked to break through into the reserve side.In 2012, he was loaned to Belgian side Royal Antwerp to gain first-team experience. The following summer, Cofie signed a one–year loan deal with League One side Sheffield United for the Sheffield United F.C. season|2012–13 season]. After making his debut in the opening game of the season against Shrewsbury Town, Cofie scored his first goal for the club a week later at Colchester United. On 3 January 2013, it was revealed that Cofie had returned to Manchester United, despite having expressed a desire to see out the season with the Blades.
In February 2013, Cofie joined another League One side, Notts County, on a one-month long loan deal. Cofie scored on his debut, in a 1–1 draw with Crewe Alexandra, but his deal was not extended and he returned to United in March having made seven appearances for County. After failing to break through into their first team, Cofie was released by Manchester United at the end of the 2012–13 season.
Barnsley
Available on a free transfer, Cofie signed a one-year deal with Championship side Barnsley on 19 July 2013. Cofie was released by Barnsley at the end of the 2013–14 season.Molde
On 9 August 2014, Cofie signed a contract with Tippeligaen side Molde FK.He was released in January 2015 after not making a single first team appearance for the club.