{"id":403750,"date":"2018-02-23T09:19:57","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T09:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=403750"},"modified":"2018-02-23T09:28:09","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T09:28:09","slug":"andre-ayew-a-masterful-artist-of-positional-evolution-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/andre-ayew-a-masterful-artist-of-positional-evolution-article\/","title":{"rendered":"Andre Ayew: A masterful artist of positional evolution [Article]"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ghanaian international footballer Andre Ayew joined Premier league strugglers Swansea City on deadline day from West Ham United and made his debut for the Welsh side as a substitute in Swansea\u2019s 1-0 win over Burnley two weeks ago.<\/em><\/p>\n Citi Sports Daniel Koranteng looks at the 28 year old\u2019s positional evolution and discusses why his return and potential partnership with his brother Jordan could be exactly what Swansea needs in their quest for survival.<\/em><\/p>\n Ayew\u2019s positional change<\/strong><\/p>\n On 6 November, 2010 a year after leading Ghana to U-20 World Cup glory, Andre Ayew made his UEFA Champions League debut for Marseille against Portuguese champions Porto at the Est\u00e1dio do Drag\u00e3o, playing on the left wing in place of Dutch winger Bolo Zenden. The then 20 year old played 77 minutes before being substituted out as Marseille were defeated 2\u20131.<\/p>\n Ayew earned praise from the media and many pundits especially for keeping in form Porto right back Jos\u00e9 Bosingwa quiet on the night. Ayew went on to cement himself as a regular in the side making 37 appearances in his debut season. Although he was deployed in the wider positions in his first season, Ayew showed his good eye for goal and incredible movement in the box scoring 11 goals in his debut season.<\/p>\n This prompted then Marseille manager Didier Dechamps to grant the Ghana international more positional freedom which resulted in Ayew scoring 30 goals for the side in the next 3 seasons. Perhaps Ayew\u2019s best season for the French side came in his final season where he was part of a powerful front 3 along with Dimitri Payet and Andre Pierre Gignac. He finished the season as the clubs second highest goal scorer with 9 goals, featuring as the team\u2019s main central attacking threat on some occasions in the absence of Gignac.<\/p>\n