Renard is among the coaches who will be in the tournament next June after leading Saudi Arabia to reach the World Cup for the second time in a row. 

In an interview with Luv FM on the Sports Blitz Xtra, Addae Mensah expressed his wish for Ghana to explore the possibility of bringing the French on board to work alongside Otto Addo, highlighting his experience and winning the AFCON.

“Left to me alone, if we can figure out a way of bringing in Harvey Renard to stand side by side with Otto Addo to join the squad as somebody who has won the AFCON and been to the Mundial, I would love that,” he said.

Addae Mensah acknowledged the difficulty in defining Renard’s position in the coaching staff if he joins the team.

“We may just have to leave things as they are, because what will be his role? You can’t call him a technical advisor, because you have a technical advisor, you can’t call him a set-piece, or striker’s coach, or personal assistant to Otto. It’s a difficult one, but maybe we just have to go with what we have,” he stated.

He also admitted that it is impossible to change the entire technical team after qualifying for the World Cup.

“They have qualified us. They have played eight games, won seven and drawn one, not lost. That’s the record. If you add the Qatar World Cup qualification, two games there again, no loss. Yes, the World Cup proper wasn’t great. They must have learned something from there,” he said.

Hervé Renard has been a long-time favourite for many Ghanaians to coach the national team and has been a top candidate when the job became vacant.

He has worked previously for Ghana as a physical trainer and assistant coach, with Claude Le Roy from 2007 to 2008.

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Frenchman Renard took charge of the Saudi men’s team from July 2019 to March 2023 and led them to a remarkable victory over eventual tournament winners Argentina in the group stage of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

The 56-year-old left the role to lead France’s women at the 2023 World Cup and on home soil at this year’s Olympics.

He was replaced at the Saudi helm by Mancini, who he now succeeds after the Italian agreed with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to end his contract.

Mancini, 59, left his role as Italy head coach and became Saudi Arabia manager in August 2023, but he endured a difficult time in charge.

“I am back,” Renard said in a video posted on the Saudi national team’s X account.

“I did not intend to leave, but when your country knock on your door, you have to respond.

“I did not finish my story with Saudi yet.”

Renard’s second spell in charge will begin with World Cup qualifiers away to Australia and Indonesia in November.

While the ongoing Euros in Germany have faced criticism from fans and media alike, Renard, who formerly coached Saudi Arabia, highlighted the unpredictability of AFCON compared to the Euros.

“Euro is no less than the Africa Cup of Nations. In the Euros, from the beginning you know at least four or five teams that can win the trophy, but in Africa, all the teams are capable of winning the trophy,” he said, according to bsnsports.com.ng.

“You can be surprised by the results too. Big nations are beaten by the lesser ones. For me, AFCON has a lot of fever and it’s so interesting with many shocks. Many people love it,” he added.

Renard has an impressive track record, having managed the Zambia national team to victory in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, and repeating the feat in 2015 with the Ivory Coast, making him the first coach to win the AFCON with two different teams.

He also coached Morocco in the 2018 World Cup.

Renard served as the physical trainer for the Black Stars under former coach Claude Le Roy.

Following the sacking of Akonnor following Ghana’s poor start to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, a three-member committee was put together by the FA to settle on a new coach within 48 hours.

The committee eventually settled on Milovan Rajevac, but the Serbian lasted for just five months in the job before being fired after the Black Stars’ disappointing campaign at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon having signed a one-year renewable deal.

Ghana failed to win a single game during the tournament in Cameroon and finished at the bottom of a group that contained Morocco, Gabon, and Comoros. This represented Ghana’s worst outing at the AFCON since 2006, leading to Rajevac being relieved of his post.

Opening up on the committee’s choices, Mr Abbey said they initially wanted Renard from Saudi Arabia but the Frenchman turned down the offer.

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“The GFA gave us 48 hours to settle on a new coach for the team and we decided that we have to go in for someone who understands the culture of the country,” he told Accra-based Original FM.

“Herve Renard was our first choice but when we contacted him, he was not ready to leave his work with the Saudi Arabia team because he told us he wants to lead the side to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

“Again, his monthly was a problem because he was on an $80,000 but we were still ready to negotiate with him,” he added.

The GFA went on to replace Rajevac with Otto Addo, who has since qualified the Black Stars for the 2022 World Cup after edging Nigeria in the playoffs in March.