I decided to stay in England to prove my critics wrong

Sports News for Friday, September 18, 2020

Source: footballghana.com

2020-09-18

Black Stars forward Jordan Ayew has said he was determined to prove his critics wrong after failing to impress in his first season in the English Premier League.

The Ghana international joined Aston Villa from the French side of Ligue 1, Lorient, for a fee of £ 8 million in 2015.

Jordan endured a torrid season with Villa and was relegated at the end of the 2015-16 season, earning just 17 points, but Jordan finished the season as his top scorer after scoring seven goals.

He joined Swansea City the following season, but was also relegated with the Swans. Jordan joined Crystal Palace on loan prior to the 2018/19 season.

The forward scored just one goal for the club but the club signed him permanently.

Jordan Ayew at the end of the 2019/20 season scored 9 goals and won the top three awards at the club, including the best club player of the season.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Mail, Ayew hinted that: “I never gave up,” he says. “People around me said, ‘Go back to France,’ but I wanted to prove myself.”

“My mother has done a good job because she has kept my brothers and me very close.”

“She told us that if we had a problem between us, we should solve it in the next five minutes. Those are the little things that have made us very close.”

“As a family, we are everywhere: I am in London, Andre is in Wales, my brother is in Gibraltar, but we always talk to each other.”

“I try to talk to him as much as I can, maybe nine times a week.”

“But Dad can be very difficult. Sometimes things were easy for him and he thinks they should be easy for me.”

“He’s very critical of us, but in a good way. He’s a perfectionist and tries to make sure we do it every day.”

“But he supports all of our teams. So dad is a fan of Crystal Palace now.”