Jordan Ayew
Introduction '''Jordan Pierre Ayew''' (born 11 September 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for  club Crystal Palace and the Ghana national team.He is the son of former Ghana captain Abedi Pele and brother of fellow players André and Ibrahim Ayew. Born in Marseille, Ayew was raised in France and started his career with Lyon Duchère before joining the Marseille academy in 2006.Born in France, Ayew made his debut for the Ghana national team in 2010 and has earned 100 caps. He has played in two FIFA World Cups (2014 and 2022), as well as six Africa Cup of Nations (2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023), helping them finish runners-up in 2015.
Club career ===Marseille===Jordan Ayew playing for OM in 2013Ayew joined Marseille as a trainee in 2006.He signed a three-year professional contract with Marseille in 2009.Jordan Ayew made his debut for the senior team on 16 December 2009 in a league match, scoring the equaliser against Lorient. Marseille went on to win the match 2–1.Ayew scored his second goal against Nice at the Stade Vélodrome on 27 April 2011 in a match which saw his elder brother André Ayew score a hat-trick. On 1 November 2011, Jordan and André both started a UEFA Champions League match for the first time against Premier League giants Arsenal.On 6 January 2014, he joined Ligue 1 rivals Sochaux on a loan deal until the end of the 2013–14 season.===Lorient===On 28 July 2014, Ayew signed a four-year contract with Lorient. Ayew explained the style and quality of play that Lorient proposed was the reason behind the decision.===Aston Villa===On 27 July 2015, Ayew joined Aston Villa on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £8 million. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 October 2015 against his elder brother's club, Swansea City, in the 62nd minute. Aston Villa were relegated at the end of the 2015–16 season, winning only 17 points, but Ayew did end the season as their top scorer, albeit with just seven goals.===Swansea City======= 2016–17 season ====Ayew playing for Swansea in 2017On 31 January 2017, Jordan Ayew joined Swansea City until the end of the 2019–20 season in exchange for Welsh International defender Neil Taylor, plus a fee from Swansea that can rise to £5 million if undisclosed future conditions are met. Jordan's elder brother was a Swansea City player during the 2015–16 season and later joined him in the winter transfer window of 2018.On 12 February 2017, he made his debut in a 2–0 victory over Leicester City after coming on in the 72nd minute for Fernando Llorente. In the final match of the season, Ayew scored his debut goal for Swansea by scoring the first goal, an equalizer which led to a their 2–1 comeback victory over West Bromwich Albion. He played a key role in helping them survive the league and avoid relegation by playing 14 matches, starting nine of those, scoring a goal and assisting three goals.==== 2017–18 season ====On 22 August 2017, Ayew put up a man of the match performance by scoring a 20-yard strike goal and assisting another for Tammy Abraham's debut goal in Swansea's EFL Cup match against MK Dons. His goal 20-yard effort was described by news outlet BBC as a tremendous strike. Ayew scored his first goal in the 2017–18 season, on 26 August 2017, to help The Swans to a 2–0 victory over his future club Crystal Palace. On 17 January 2018, he scored the opening goal in the Swans' 2–1 FA Cup replay match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.At the end of his second season, his only full season with the club, he played 44 matches in all competition and scored 11 goals with 7 coming in the league. He finished the season as the club's top goal scorer and was voted the Players' Player of the season. His solo goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers scored on 17 January 2018 in the FA Cup won the club's goal of the season award. Despite his performance over the season, Swansea was relegated to the championship. This made it the fourth time he had ended as a club's top goal scorer but the club still getting relegated at the end of the season.===Crystal Palace======= 2018–19 season ====On transfer deadline day in August 2018, Ayew joined Crystal Palace on loan for the 2018–19 season. He made his debut on 1 September 2018, starting in Palace's 2–0 loss to Southampton. On 15 September, he put on an impressive performance against Huddersfield, providing the assist to Wilfried Zaha's goal to earn Palace a 1–0 victory. He was praised for his pressing, hold up play which helped in bringing others into play and allowing the other attackers the opportunity to create chances.Ayew (9) playing for Crystal Palace against Manchester United in 2021On 2 January 2019, he scored his first league goal for Palace by scoring the opening goal in their 2–0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Three days after, Ayew came on in the 68th minute for Jairo Riedewald to score a late winner (in the 86th minute) against Grimsby Town in the FA Cup.==== 2019–20 season ====On 25 July 2019, Ayew made the move permanent with a £2.5m transfer from Swansea City on a three-year deal. Ayew scored his first goal of the season on 24 August 2019 against Manchester United at Old Trafford, netting the opener in the first half against the run of play, latching on to Jeffrey Schlupp's flick-on as Crystal Palace secured an historic 2–1 victory.On Boxing Day 2019, Ayew scored the match winner in stoppage time as Crystal Palace came from behind to defeat West Ham 2–1.It was Ayew's 21st goal in the Premier League with 20 having been scored in the second half (95%) - the highest such ratio of any player with 20+ goals in the competition's history. At the end of the season, He became the highest goalscorer for Crystal Palace with 9 goals, and won the Crystal Palace Player of the season, Players' Player of the season and Goal of the season awards.==== 2020–present ====In June 2022, Ayew signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until 2023.On 1 November 2023, Ayew signed a contract extension until 2025.
International career Ayew (left) playing for Ghana at the 2021 African Cup of NationsAyew made his first senior appearance for Ghana on 5 September 2010, in a 3–0 2012 AFCON Qualification match win against Swaziland, at the Somhlolo National Stadium in Lobamba, Swaziland. On 1 June 2012, Ayew scored his first and second international goals in a 2014 World Cup qualification match win against Lesotho, at the Kumasi Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Ghana. In December 2011, Ayew was named to the Ghana national team provisional 25-man squad for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, and in January 2012 he was selected for the tournament's 23-man squad.In June 2014, he was included in the Ghanaian squad for the 2014 World Cup. In Ghana's last warm-up match before the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil on 9 June 2014, Ayew came on as a first-half substitute for the injured Majeed Waris and ended up scoring a hat-trick in a 4–0 victory over South Korea.Jordan Ayew was part of the Ghanaian team in 2015 Africa Cup of Nations which took place in Equatorial Guinea that took a silver medal as result of losing out to Ivory Coast on a penalty shoot-out whom they clinch the African Cup, which occurred on 8 February 2015.He was part of the Ghanaian team in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations that was eliminated at the group stage of the competition.
Personal life Ayew is the son of Maha Ayew and Abedi Pele. His maternal grandfather, Alhaji A.A. Khadir, is Lebanese. His father, uncles Kwame and Sola, and brothers André and Ibrahim are all current or former professional footballers as well as a sister, Imani. Ayew is a practising Muslim. He is married to Denise Acquah and they have two children.In addition to his Ghanaian nationality, he holds French nationality.
Career statistics ===Club===ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMarseille2009–10Ligue 141000000–412010–11222103030002922011–12343331160104572012–13357201093—47102013–14161001051—222Total1111463612341014722Sochaux (loan)2013–14Ligue 11751000——185Lorient2014–15Ligue 131120011——3213Aston Villa2015–16Premier League3073030——3672016–17Championship2120011——223Total5193041——5810Swansea City2016–17Premier League141————1412017–183675232——4411Total5085232——5812Crystal Palace (loan)2018–19Premier League2013120——252Crystal Palace2019–20Premier League3791010——3992020–213311010——3512021–223132010——3432022–233841020——4142023–242330020——253Total162205070——17420Career total442692362352341051284===International===National teamYearAppsGoalsGhana2010202011102012722013002014113201514520167120178120181220191032020402021812022141202391202442Total10022:''Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ayew goal. ''+ List of international goals scored by Jordan Ayew No. Date  Venue  Opponent  Score  Result  Competition 1.1 June 2012  Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana    3–0 7–0  2014 FIFA World Cup qualification 2.6–0 3.9 June 2014  Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States    1–0  4–0  Friendly 4.3–0 5.4–0 6.5 February 2015  Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea    1–0  3–0  2015 Africa Cup of Nations 7.14 June 2015  Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana    2–0 7–1  2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 8.5–1 9.1 September 2015  Stade Municipal de Kintélé, Brazzaville, Congo   3–2 3–2  Friendly 10.17 November 2015  Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi, Ghana   2–0 2–0  2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 11.24 March 2016  Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana   3–0 3–1  2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 12.29 January 2017  Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon   1–0 2–1  2017 Africa Cup of Nations 13.18 November 2018  Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia    1–0 2–0  2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 14.2–0 15.25 June 2019  Ismailia Stadium, Ismailia, Egypt   2–1 2–2  2019 Africa Cup of Nations 16.2 July 2019  Suez Stadium, Suez, Egypt   1–0 2–0 17.18 November 2019  Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho, São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe   1–0 1–0  2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 18.28 March 2021  Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana   2–0 3–1 19.10 June 2022  Noevir Stadium Kobe, Kobe, Japan   1–1 1–4  2022 Kirin Cup 20.20 September 2023  Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana   3–0 3–1  Friendly 21.22 January 2024  Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast    1–0 2–2  2023 Africa Cup of Nations 22.2–0
Honours Ayew celebrating the 2011 Trophée des Champions with Marseille'''Marseille'''* Ligue 1: 2009–10* Coupe de la Ligue: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12* Trophée des Champions: 2010, 2011'''Ghana'''* African Cup of Nations runner-up: 2015'''Individual'''* Ghana Player of the Year: 2020* Crystal Palace Player of the Year: 2019–20* Crystal Palace Players' Player of the Year: 2019–20* Crystal Palace Goal of the Season: 2019–20* Swansea City Players’ Player of the Season: 2017–18* Swansea City Goal of the Season: 2017–18
See also * List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
References
External links * Profile at the Crystal Palace F.C. website*