Swansea City, A Blessing For Andre, 49th Most Influential Ghanaian

When it was announced on the 10^th of June, 2015 that he had left French giants Olympique Marseille to join a club which wasn’t a Liverpool, a Manchester United, an Arsenal or even a Dortmund, but rather Swansea City, there were mixed reactions from football lovers.
Some were hugely disappointed because Andre Ayew failed to land the dream move they had been wishing to see. “Ayew should have moved to a bigger club than Swansea. He deserves better. How can you leave a club that plays in the UEFA Champions League consistently and move to a mid-table English club?” An obviously disappointed fan blurted out.”
On the converse, there were some fans of the 2009 Under-20 World Cup winner who thought it was the right move for him at that point in his career. “It’s good Dede didn’t rush to join one of the giants in the Premiership. He may get overawed by the pressure and crack. He needs to build momentum gradually in the Premier League and then move to one of the giants when he is adept to the English game.” Another said.
But Andre Ayew joined Swansea on his own volition; convinced that the coach’s project was in tune with what he believed in. “I looked left and right and I thought Swansea was the best choice for me to grow as player,” Ayew told Sky Sports. “Not only football-wise but I heard about the squad, how the players live together and the team spirit. So I thought it was great to come to Swansea because I know how positive it is here. I’m going to do everything to be ready to adapt but I’m lucky because I’ve played against a lot of English players in the Champions League. I’ll have a pre-season to get ready before the season starts, so I’ll have time to adapt.”
And rightly so, he was named Player of the month of August after displaying sterling performances against Manchester United and Chelsea. He later rose on to become Swansea’s top scorer of the season with 12 league goals, which also saw him equalling Tony Yeboah’s long standing record as Ghana’s top scorer in the EPL in a single season.
Earlier in 2015, Andre was part of the Black Stars squad that placed second at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea where he emerged as the top scorer of the competition.
After the AFCON, he then went on to score seven goals for Olympique Marseille before the Ligue 1 came to a close in May.
As the deputy captain of the Black Stars, Andre Ayew led the team form majority of the AFCON 2017 qualifiers due to the incessant injuries to skipper of the side, Asamoah Gyan.
His performance in 2015 didn’t go unnoticed as the Sports Writers Association of Ghana, SWAG voted him as the Sports Personality and Footballer of the Year, 2015.
It therefore didn’t come a surprise when he was named as the 49^th Most Influential Ghanaian.
The climax of the 6^th Annual Ghana’s Most Influential is slated for the 30^th of June at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel.
CONGRATULATIONS, ANDRE AYEW.