Ghana international Andre Ayew has put an end to speculation by signing with English Premier League side Swansea City, and is excited about the prospect of playing in the English top flight.
The son of Ghanaian football legend Abedi Pele refused to sign an extension to his contract with Ligue 1 club Marseille, and this week joined Swansea on a free transfer, signing a four-year deal to keep him at the club.
The 25-year-old was in demand once it was made known that he would be leaving France, with clubs in England, Italy and Germany displaying their interest in the talented winger.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool have all been linked to Ayew, while German sides Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg were also rumoured to be monitoring him. In Italy Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli and Roma wanted the player.
But in the end he decided to choose the Welsh outfit, after considering his options.
“I looked left and right and I thought Swansea was the best choice for me to grow as player. 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,” Ayew told Sky Sports.
“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,” he added.
The Black Stars player explained that he was patient in making his eventual decision to join the Swans.
“I’ve spoken a lot to players from Ghana who have played in the Premier League. They heard I was going to come but they didn’t know where. It’s a league I really like and they knew I was going to come to England, but I took my time to make a decision,” he said.
“When I spoke to them all, the Ghanaians love the Premiership and Asamoah Gyan, Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari all said the same thing. I think it’s the best league and I wanted to come and play against the best players,” he explained.