Andre Ayew is a mercurial player, and one who has done little to impress in his short time at West Ham. In a way it’s not his fault. In his first game against Chelsea he was injured and had to come off after 35 minutes. He was out until December and then found it difficult to get a starting place. He could have replaced Payet but then had to go to the African Cup of Nations.
In all, Ayew has only played 13 games (most of the as substitute) and scored 2 goals. In his career he has a scoring record of just over 1 in 4, 79 goals in 359 games. Last season he scored 12 goals in 34 games for Swansea.
Given that Michail Antonio is suspended for the Chelsea game and it’s almost certain he will replace him in the starting lineup. This is the time for Andre Ayew to step up to the plate. But he will have to play very well to displace Lanzini, Snodgrass or Antonio in the starting lineup. I’m not yet quite sure what Ayew’s best position is for Ayew – should he play alongside Andy Carroll, just behind him, or on the right?
We paid £20 million for Ayew – our biggest ever transfer fee. Ayew must know he’s been a bit of a disappointment so far. He can’t be blamed for getting an injury but can be blamed for letting himself get so unfit, that even when he had recovered from the injury he couldn’t play because his fitness wasn’t up to scratch.
It’s now payback time.