The Ayew Brothers Could Face Contrasting Premier League Campaigns

The Ayew brothers Andre and Jordan have endured battles against relegation since their respective moves to the Premier League and this season looks to be following the pattern. Andre – the older sibling – was the first to move to England’s top flight when he moved to Swansea City in 2015. However, he played for the Welsh outfit for just one season after impressing at the Liberty Stadium, scoring 12 goals, prompting a £20.5m club-record move to West Ham.

Jordan – two years Andre’s junior – signed for Aston Villa six weeks after his older brother moved to Swansea. The forward did not enjoy the same success as he scored seven goals in his 30 matches, but was powerless to stop the Villans inevitable relegation to the Championship. After six months in the second tier, he was snapped up in a swap deal by the Swans – returning an Ayew to Wales. He has fared well enough since his move back to the top flight, although he will be targeting an improvement in his second season. Both West Ham and Swansea have reinforced their squads over the summer, spending significant amounts to surround the duo at the top of the pitch. Despite West Ham’s poor start to the season, Paul Clement’s men are still considered stronger candidates for the drop at odds of 7/4 with some sportsbooks despite their decent opening to the new term.

Andre Ayew and West Ham

The 27-year-old had a rough start to his career with the Hammers last season as he suffered an injury in the opening game and was ruled out for two months. Andre made his return to the side in October, but struggled to get up to speed for Slaven Bilic’s men. He broke his duck against his old club Swansea before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations. He found his form for his country and after finishing fourth returned to the Premier League in February. The forward was influential in guiding the club to 11th place in the table, scoring five goals in their remaining 13 matches, including on the final day in their win over Burnley.

The additions of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez added further firepower to West Ham’s squad in the summer. Ayew was thrust into a wide role as part of the front three with him and the Austrian operating either side of Hernandez through the middle. However, thus far they’ve failed to click into the gear as Arnautovic was dismissed against Southampton in a costly 3-2 defeat. The club then suffered hammerings at the hands of Manchester United and Newcastle United, putting Bilic under extreme pressure. There’s more than enough talent to turn the situation around, but Ayew is yet to get off the mark this term and his side have looked toothless, especially against Newcastle. However, should Ayew and Hernandez begin to click at the top of the pitch – they will be able to resolve the situation.

Jordan Ayew and Swansea City

Jordan had a tough start to his career in England as he joined a struggling side in the form of Aston Villa, playing under four managers in his first season. His performances were not great, but given the problems at Villa Park his issues had mitigating circumstances. Idrissa Gueye had similar issues, but has come to life since his move to Everton. After treading water in the Championship for six months, Jordan was able to return to the Premier League with Swansea. He struggled for form initially in his side’s battle against the drop, but did progress towards the end of the term as the Swans survived, opening his account on the final day of the term against West Brom.

Clement’s men have endured more turnover the majority of clubs in the Premier League this term. They lost their two key men from last season, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente, putting the onus on Ayew and the new signings to hit the ground running this season. The 25-year-old will have a new strike partner as Wilfried Bony returned to the club as Swansea reinvested the cash from their transfer deals and their new shirt sponsorship with Barracuda to strengthen the squad.

The Swans pulled off one of the biggest coups of the transfer by signing Renato Sanches on loan. The 20-year-old had failed to force his way into the Bayern Munich starting line-up and was deemed surplus to requirements this term. Should he deliver on his potential and Bony returns to the form from his previous spell at the club Swansea will thrive. There will be ample openings for Ayew to make his mark alongside his talented team-mates with less focus on him to be the main man that was at Villa. The forward should fare better in the Premier League this time around, targeting the 10-goal mark after notching his first goal of the season in his side's win over Crystal Palace.