COMMENT
It’s been a miserable few seasons for Andre Ayew, who appeared to have the world at his feet when he left Olympique de Marseille for Swansea City in 2015 and then again when he joined West Ham United a year later.
Injuries, managerial changes and overall instability in East London meant that he never truly realised his potential at the London Stadium, while a return to Swansea in January was followed by relegation six months later.
He’s surely not going to stick around with the Welsh side in the Championship, and a move abroad is surely on the horizon.
The story of last season
Getty Images
At the start of the campaign, there were hopes that Dede could put his troubled maiden season at West Ham behind him and finally realise the quality that he’d shown during his first year in the Premier League with Swansea.
There were a few fine showings, notably as he came off the bench to single-handedly down Huddersfield Town in September, before also netting in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
However, with Slaven Bilic replaced by David Moyes, Ayew appeared to lose a key asset at the London Stadium, and he was allowed to leave on transfer deadline day at the end of the winter window—January 31—having not played a full 90 minutes in the top flight since the end of November.
There was initial promise back at his former club, and reunited with brother Jordan, but despite contributing an assist as the Irons were put to the sword in early March, the siblings couldn’t do enough to keep the Swans up.
He ended up with just two assists as Carlos Carvalhal’s side lost their way.
What could happen this window?
Swansea will surely need to offload some big earners and remould their squad as they embark on second-tier campaign.
Dede, who arrived for a fee of £20 million less than six months ago, appears to be an expensive luxury for the gritty Championship…and he’ll also attract plenty of admirers.
Celtic and Newcastle United are both understood to be monitoring the Ghana international’s services, although the duo look set to miss out following interest from Turkey.
Initially, Besiktas were set to be in pole position to recruit the 28-year-old, but latterly, Fenerbahce look to have usurped them in the race for the forward.
Sky Sports believe that the Super Lig giants are keen to recruit the versatile attacker on a loan deal—at least initially—and expect some movement on this deal imminently.
What to expect next season
Getty
With such intense speculation linking Ayew with an imminent move to Turkey, and with several weeks of the transfer window still to do, it’s increasingly difficult to see how he’ll remain at Swansea.
Either Fener or Besiktas could be ideal destinations for the former OM talisman.
The former, in particular, have a strong track record of excellent African talent, with Ghanaian great Stephen Appiah one of several high-profile continental stars to pass through the club.
Dede would be welcomed as a superstar at any of the Istanbul giants, and certainly has the talent to be one of the Turkish top flight’s outstanding talents.
He’s a player who would surely relish the standing and the chance to return to continental competition, even though it would take him out of the great narratives of Europe’s major leagues a little too prematurely.
