This is meant to scuttle comments by Dutch scout Sebastien Arnesen that he spotted the player after just 10 minutes into a game he watched in Ghana.
But the facts remain that the player was picked by a local scout Gideon Attoh of ArthurLegacy Sports during an inter-schools competition in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The 18-year-old has hogged the headlines in recent weeks after scintillating displays for Jose Mourinho’s side in the Italian Serie A.
Last week, he climbed off the bench to net a pair of goals which propelled Roma to a 2-0 win at Genoa.
Afena-Gyan becomes the first player born in 2003 to score in Italian top-flight.