Andre Ayew’s departure from Swansea City has coincided with a dramatic decline in the form of the Welsh outfit in the Championship. The Swans were one win away from the Premier League last season after reaching the playoff final at Wembley Stadium.
However, Ayew and company were beaten by Brentford in the showdown contest, allowing the Bees to progress to the top flight. For Ayew it was the end of his career at the Liberty Stadium in his second spell with the club. He had performed brilliantly in the second tier, but couldn’t drive his team over the line.
Ayew wasn’t the only player to head for the exit, as Jamal Lowe and Connor Roberts also left the club, while Steve Cooper resigned amid the lack of control over transfers. As a result, Swansea are +350 to be relegated according to the odds on the English Football League Championship markets. The club have already made a slow start and their case to suffer the drop to decline may only increase, as indicated by the Championship betting tips. New manager Russell Martin has a major task ahead of him without the presence of Ayew and company in the final third.
Ayew was the driving force behind the club’s push to return to the Premier League after their relegation in 2018. He spent the first season of their exile on loan at Fenerbahce, but returned for the 2019/2020 campaign, and it was no surprise to see their fortunes improve dramatically with his presence.
The Ghana international scored 15 goals in 44 appearances to allow the club to finish in sixth place in the Championship, earning a spot in the playoffs. Ayew put them ahead in the tie against the Bees in the playoff semi-finals, only to suffer a 3-1 reverse in the return leg.
Undeterred Swansea pushed once more for promotion under Cooper with Ayew as the central figure. He was even better in the last campaign in the final third, scoring 16 goals in 43 appearances.
When the games got bigger in the playoffs, Ayew rose to the occasion with a vital strike against Barnsley to set up another contest against Brentford in the playoff final, where the Bees once again got the best of Cooper and his team at Wembley Stadium, earning promotion to the top flight.
Ayew opted to leave Swansea at the end of his contract and has left the club with a massive hole in the final third. The 31-year-old didn’t only score goals, but he helped create space for others in the team to thrive. The Welsh outfit hasn’t adequately replaced him, signing Michael Obafemi from Southampton, who doesn’t have a great deal of first-time experience, and up-and-comer Joël Piroe from PSV Eindhoven.
It could be a sad state of affairs for the Swans to drop from the precipice of the Premier League to League One, unless they are able to muster enough goals between the rest of the team to survive. Ayew’s departure could be the death knell that ends their tenure in the second tier.