In unarguably his best game for Swansea City since rejoining the club in January, Andre Ayew was the first man to be withdrawn when manager Carlos Carvalhal sought to freshen up his squad in Saturday's 4-1 triumph over West Ham United.
The Ghana international was impressive on the day against his former side, setting up Ki Sung-Yeung's opener and winning the penalty for Jordan Ayew's goal.
The 28-year-old was one of Swansea’s two Transfer Deadline Day acquisitions in good form on Saturday as Leicester City loanee Andy King registered the third goal.
“When they [Ayew and King] came to us, they had not played a lot of football so it was difficult to put them straight into the team,” Carvalhal shed light on his decision after the game.
“The way we play and what we want to do is something their bodies must get used to.
“Maybe now, after three or four weeks, we felt they were completely ready and they showed that with the way they played.
“But we understand they have not played for a long time and that’s why we brought them off, to protect them from any injuries.”
While the Ayew brothers have prominently featured in the post-match stories, Carvalhal refuses to single out any one man for praise.
“When you win 4-1, I don’t think it is about one player,” said the Swans boss.
“I think it’s fair on a day like this to talk about the collective. We have two brothers in our team, but it looked like we played with 11 brothers today.
“There were 11 players on the pitch and another three who came on. There were others in the squad and even those who are injured – Wilfried Bony, Leroy Fer and Angel Rangel - who I saw today.
“We have a good commitment here – a good family. The players are like brothers and we felt all together today.”
Andre Ayew has made three league appearances in all since rejoining Swansea in January.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
