Who is Andre Ayew? Meet the tricky speedster that has been linked with a move to Swansea City
Reports in France say that the Swans have offered a bumper package to the Ghanaian in a bid to lure him to the Liberty Stadium this summer.
Who is he? Ayew is the son of Abedi Ayew, known professionally as Abedi Pele, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest African players - if not the greatest - of all time.
Abedi was given the nickname Pele because of the dazzling footwork, speed and nimbleness on his feet he had from a young age which was reminiscent of the Brazilian legend.
He was part of the famous Marseille team that won the 1993 Champions League final 1-0 against an AC Milan team that included Baresi, Maldini, Rijkaard and Van Basten.
Andre is just one of three of Abedi’s sons to play professional football.
Ibrahim Ayew plays for Asante Kotoko in Ghana and Jordan Ayew is a team-mate of Andre’s at Marseille.
Where has he played?
Ayew was born in Seclin, Northern France, but spent his formative footballing years with Nania FC in Ghana.
After four years with the club’s youth academy, he was promoted to the senior squad aged just 14.
Following two seasons, he returned to France and his father’s former club Marseille where he was initially given a trainee contract.
He impressed in the under-17s, scoring 11 goals and on May 27, 2007, signed his first professional contract for an initial three years.
He spent loan spells at Lorient in 2008/9 and AC Arles-Avignon in 2009/10 but has been an important member of the Marseille first-team set-up for the past five seasons.
What about his international career?
Ayew had dual French and Ghanaian citizenship and initially trained with the France under-18 squad but after warning Ghana he was on the verge of representing France internationally, was called up by then-coach Claude Le Roy on August 21, 2007. He made his debut as a substitute against Senegal.
Ayew captained the under-20s to victory at the 2009 African Youth Championship and the 2009 FIFA U20 World Cup.
He starred in Ghana’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2010 but was suspended for their penalty shoot-out defeat to Uruguay.
Ayew then retired from international football in February 2013 after a dispute with the Ghana Football Association before returning to help them qualify for last year’s World Cup where he scored goals against the USA and Germany but couldn’t prevent them finishing bottom of their group.
He has 11 goals in 62 games for his country.
What kind of player is he?
Much like his father, Ayew is a tricky speedster that likes to run at defences and can cause all manner of problems with his pace, power and balance at high speed.
As well as running beyond defences himself, Ayew is an unselfish and creative player who loves to lay on chances for others.
Ayew is also underrated in the air, where his strong leap can see him outjump and outmuscle the best defenders - as proved by the header he powered past Manuel Neuer at last year’s World Cup.
What position does he play?
Ayew would best be described as a forward more than anything else because, while he can play up front, he is often used as a winger or a support striker because of his ability running from deep and beating defenders at the byline to cross for central strikers.
What is his goals return like?
Good but not great. He has a career record of 64 goals in 249 games which equates to one goal in every 3.89 games. Considering most of his career has been spent in one of Europe’s top league, that is not to be sniffed at but it is also less prolific than the likes of Wilfried Bony and Bafetimbi Gomis before they arrived.
There is a suggestion, though, that coaches haven’t always got the best out of Ayew and his goal potential. This season Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa has managed to get 10 goals from Ayew in 29 appearances.
Will Ayew leave Marseille?
It looks for all the world he will with his contract up in June and Marseille struggling to pay top dollar to keep their top stars.
Speaking in February, Ayew said: “There will soon be a meeting to discuss my future. But I will not accept a paycut to stay at OM. Every player wants to make progress, in all aspects.
“If the club want me to leave, then I will go. But I like Marseille.”
Who else is interested?
How long have you got? To say Ayew is a man in demand is an understatement, especially if you believe everything you read.
Just in the Premier League alone, Everton, Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle have been linked persistently while Arsenal and Manchester United have been credited with a past interest.
Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg want to take him to the Bundesliga while AC and Inter Milan are also keeping tabs on the situation as the 25-year-old mulls over his next career move.
The general consensus is that Roma are leading the chase for him but reports in France on Monday claimed Swansea had made an ambitious move with a lucrative offer of 300,000 euros a month.
That is more than £50,000 a week.
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