Why Jordan Ayew is integral to Swansea City right now

Most Swansea City fans will no doubt agree that 26 year old French born Ghanaian International forward Jordan Ayew, who joined the Swans just over a year ago from Aston Villa in a deal that saw Neil Taylor go in the other direction, will agree that he is pivotal to our survival changes this season.

After signing for the Welsh club, Ayew had 9 starts in the Premier League and in that time he managed to score just 1 goal, whilst providing 3 assists.  Ayew also made 5 appearances from the bench as the Swans, then led by Paul Clement, managed to defy the odds and secure their status as a top flight outfit in 2016/17.

Jordan Ayew v Newcastle

Having made a poor poor start to this season under Paul Clement, you could say that most of the players failed to get into any sort of form, largely due to the poor performances and subsequent results.

It was no surprise therefore when the Swansea hierarchy felt that a change was needed and Clement was sacked, replaced by former Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal.

The Portuguese’s arrival has been a huge boost to everyone, with Swansea bouncing into a superb run of form suffering just one defeat in 12 games, but you could say that Carvalhal’s influence on one player in particular has been superb.

While Clement was manager, Swansea tried a few different systems as they searched for that winning formula. Ayew found himself playing wide and through the middle.

Under Carvalhal, who has adopted a formation that uses three centre backs and one striker, Ayew has been excelling, for a number of different reasons.

First of all, a lone striker has to be hard working. They have to chase lost causes, run the channels and press the backline. Ayew does this superbly.

He’s a very unselfish player who works hard for the team from the first whistle to the last and sometimes without success too. He’s very good at bringing others into play and posing a threat to the opposition with his direct and skilful running.

When Carvalhal took over at the Liberty Stadium, his remit was simply survival and nothing more. Swansea were losing games and more importantly they were struggling to score goals too.

You could say that the Portuguese head coach switched to a more defensive formation, in order to stop the goals going in.

This has now certainly put the onus on the attacking department, as every goal was and is, certainly going to be vital until safety in the Premier League is secure for at least another season.

Jordan Ayew scores at Crystal Palace
Image Source: Getty Images

The club is in a better position now, but have to keep their focus as respected betting sites like Unibet have Swansea priced at 11/5 to be relegated.

In the Premier League this season, prior to Carvalhal’s arrival, Ayew had managed 2 goals and 2 assists in 20 games.

However, since the Portuguese head coach took over at the Liberty, Ayew has struck 3 times in 7 league games. His goals have helped earn Swansea 7 points in total so far, but you could say it’s his performances as a whole which have been more integral.

Swansea are now going to be without Wilfried Bony for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury that has since required operation.

The onus is now firmly on Ayew and his older brother Andre, who returned to the club in the winter transfer window, to not only deliver the goods in front of goal but to keep working hard for the team and you can certainly rely on Jordan right now.