Ghana has always been one of the most prolific nations in Africa when it comes to football players. International football champions like Essien, Yeboah, Kuffour, are all Ghanian and have become famous with the best football clubs in the world, also winning the most important competitions.
Abedi “Pele” Ayew is certainly considered the most important footballer in the history of Ghana, as well as being one of the most successful African players, being a pillar in the AFCON latest news at that time, also being instrumental in Marseille’s Champions League victory in the early 90s. Certainly, the children of such a champion could only inherit the same genes as their father: Andrè and Jordan Ayew are certainly among the best Ghanaian footballers of their generation.
Andrè is the captain of the Ghanaian national team and was elected “Best Ghanian Football Player” in 2011 while Jordan won this special ranking in 2020, while playing in England for Crystal Palace. In this article we will talk about the career of the most recent winner of the award as “Best Ghanian Football Player in 2020”, Jordan Ayew.
Jordan Ayew – His career in France
Jordan Ayew began his career as a professional football player in Marseille, the city where he was born. It is the same city where his father Abedi has turned into a top international player, well known all over the world. Jordan played in Marseille for 5 years in a row, between 2009 and 2014, scoring 14 goals in 111 caps.
Between 2014 and 2015 Jordan Ayew changed team twice, playing for Sochaux and Lorient, demonstrating constant growth and improving his performance. In just two years Jordan scored 17 goals (3 more than the previous five seasons), taking the field 48 times.
His performances in France continue to improve, attracting the attention of several international clubs, including Aston Villa, one of the historic teams in the English Premier League. The desire to compete with what is considered by many to be the “most beautiful football championship in the world” is real and, after only a year of contract with Lorient, Jordan Ayew decides to move to England.
Birmingham, Swansea and London – Ayew’s career in UK
In the two seasons in Birmingham, on the Aston Villa side, Jordan Ayew experiences contrasting bittersweet emotions. The first year he is the best player on his team, scoring 7 goals, but he cannot avoid the relegation of the Villains to the Championship. The second year fails to demonstrate all of his value, albeit in a minor division, so he decides to move to Wales, playing for Swansea, taking the place of his brother Andrè.
In Wales he plays more or less the same number of matches as in previous years (50) scoring one goalless. While the results aren’t entirely flattering, Jordan continues to prove he is a forward you can count on in important games. On transfer deadline day 2018, Ayew joined Crystal Palace on loan for the 2018–19 season. On 25 July 2019, Ayew made the move permanent with a £2.5m transfer from Swansea City on a three-year deal.
Jordan Ayew holds an important record in the Premier League: he is the player, with at least 20 goals, who scored the most goals in the second half in Premier League history, with a ratio of 95%