Ghana giants Asante Kotoko  have been barred from making any new player signings for the next year, life patron Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has instructed.

The development was revealed as the club’s new board convened for the first time on Tuesday.

The Kumasi-based side is arguably Ghana’s biggest club and the most successful in the history of the Premier League with 23 titles.

“Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has directed that the club should not recruit any new player for at least a season,” chief of staff of the Manhyia Palace, Kofi Badu, said. The Manhyia Palace is the seat of Otumfuo.

“The reason is to temporarily stop the player attrition rate and enable us to work with the current crop of players, who the Asantehene thinks have the quality to push the club to the top.”

A new nine-member Kotoko board was announced last month.

The unit is led by Kwame Kyei, who has been at the helm of affairs for the last three years.

Last month, Kotoko almost copped a transfer ban by Fifa for breaching player transfer rules in the signing of Ghana striker Emmanuel Clottey from Tunisian fold Esperance in 2015.

The offence caused the 1970 and 1983 African champions to pay $240,000 [€218,915].