Among Steve Cooper’s biggest challenges this summer is finding a solution to the Andre Ayew-sized gap in Swansea City’s attack.
The experienced Ghanaian bid farewell to the Swans for the second time in his career after his contract expired at the end of last season.
The departure of Swansea’s highest earner by far will be seen as a blessing by the club’s accountants but it will cause a few headaches for the coaching staff.
Ayew has been a key figure for Swansea over the past two seasons. He was their top scorer in both campaigns, netting 16 times in 2019-20 and 17 times in 2020-21.
Swansea often struggled in attack last season, netting just 56 goals in 46 regular league games. The last time a Championship side managed to qualify for the play-offs with fewer goals was Brighton in 2013-14.
Only a handful of clubs in the entire division created fewer chances than the Swans so having a player of Ayew’s quality up front was a godsend because he could quite often create goals out of thin air, even when Swansea’s attack didn’t appear to be clicking.
Nearly 30 per cent of all Swansea’s league goals last season were scored by Ayew, highlighting how vital he was to the club’s success last season.
There were so many games where Swansea struggled to manufacture anything in the opposition half, only for Ayew to pop up with a decisive moment of quality.
Replacing him will not be easy but Swansea have no shortage of striking options by now.
One player who has shown that he is perfectly capable of scoring at Championship level is Ayew’s strike partner, Jamal Lowe.
Lowe enjoyed a very impressive first season at the Liberty Stadium after joining from Wigan for around £800,000 last summer. His 14 goals represented a very respectable return and when penalties are taken out of the equation, he actually out-scored Ayew.
Lowe will now need to take on more responsibilities in Ayew’s absence and will probably look to score on a more consistent basis. Most of his goals last season came in two separate hot-streaks but there were long barren periods too for the Jamaican international.
Lowe looks like the most obvious option when it comes to filling Ayew’s boots but he won’t be able to do it alone, so who else can share that goal-scoring burden?
Liam Cullen had a frustrating season last year with injuries hampering his progress but we saw some very promising flashes from the Swansea academy product, including three goals.
He is still developing and still has plenty to learn but there is a lot to like about Cullen, both in his finisher’s touch and his eagerness to carry out less fashionable duties.
Another young up-and-comer is Morgan Whittaker. The striker was bought mid-way through last season as one for the future but still made 13 appearances in all competitions.
He had some bright moments, scoring on his debut against Manchester City and also against his former side Derby. He also put in an impressive performance against Cardiff City in the South Wales derby, even if he couldn’t quite find the back of the net in that game.
A bit like Cullen, Whittaker is still learning. There were times last season when he looked a bit raw but he has certainly shown promising signs since his arrival.
Two more strikers have been added to the mix over recent weeks.
Scottish youth international Kyle Joseph followed in Lowe’s footsteps by moving from Wigan to Swansea.
He made 18 appearances in his debut season for the Latics, scoring five goals including a vital hat-trick against Burton Albion which helped Wigan avoid relegation from League One.
It will be a step up in quality as he tries to break into a side which was chasing Premier League promotion last season, and at 19 years of age he may be seen as one for the future rather than an immediate replacement for Ayew, but he will be another to keep an eye on.
Who should be Swansea City's main striker this season? Join the debate in the comments section below Another new signing arrived in the past week and he has higher level experience.
Joël Piroe has played a total of 26 Eredivisie games for Sparta Rotterdam and PSV and even scored twice in last season’s Europa League.
But having played little more than two hours of league football in the past year, he has moved to Swansea to get further opportunities and the Jack Army will hope he can flourish here.
One thing which unites all but one of Swansea’s striking options is youth. At 26 years of age Lowe is no pensioner by any stretch of the imagination but he has considerably more experience than any of his potential striking partners.
Out of the other four vying to lead Swansea’s attack, Cullen is the oldest at just 22 years of age.
It’s asking a lot for any of these to replace Ayew’s individual quality in the side so the plan must be to find a system which can compensate for the loss of Swansea’s top scorer and while that will be difficult, it’s not impossible.
Ayew was an immensely talented player and he always gave his all for the team but it didn’t always feel like his style of play fitted in with those around him.
This has been an issue for a number of years, going back to 2015 when he first joined Swansea from Marseille. He is clearly a fantastic footballer but doesn’t always fit perfectly into the side he’s playing in and will often find himself on a totally different wavelength to those around him.
By Guto Llewelyn
Source: Walesonline.co.uk