World Cup Swans: Jordan Ayew

13th June
Club

As the 2018 World Cup draws closer, the official website takes a look back at the players who have turned out for the Swans and played on the biggest stage of all.

Today, we focus on Jordan Ayew.

AT THE WORLD CUP

Ayew had watched brothers Andre and Ibrahim help Ghana reach the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup.

Having made his international debut later that year, the Marseille forward was named in Akwasi Appiah’s 23-man squad for the 2014 finals in Brazil after impressing during a loan spell with Sochaux.

And Ayew certainly went into the tournament full of momentum after scoring a second-half hat-trick as a substitute as Ghana beat South Korea 4-0 in their final warm-up match.

He was subsequently named in the starting XI for his country’s opening game in Group G against the USA.

Ayew played the first 59 minutes before being replaced by Kevin-Prince Boateng and, although brother Andre was on target, the Black Stars slipped to a 2-1 defeat.

He then replaced Boateng in the 52nd minute of his country’s 2-2 draw against Germany, who would go on to win the tournament after beating Argentina 1-0 in the final.

The forward also made an appearance from the bench in the 71st minute of Ghana’s final group game against Portugal.

The Black Stars had to win to stand any chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the competition.

However, they were eliminated after suffering a 2-1 defeat that saw them finish bottom of Group G with just a single point from three matches.

AT THE SWANS

Ayew was on the move at club level after the tournament as he joined Lorient, for whom he scored 13 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions.

He then made the switch to England with Aston Villa 12 months later, before signing for the Swans in January 2017.

The Ghanaian was one of the standout performers during the 2017-18 campaign and top-scored with 11 goals in all competitions.

His performances saw him win the club's players' player of the season award, while he also picked up the goal of the season accolade for his magnificent individual effort against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup.

Overall, he has made 58 appearances in SA1, scoring 12 goals.