Ahead of the 2009/10 season Olympique de Marseille manager Didier Deschamps had at his disposal a crack team of players and in the area of attack especially Deschamps was spoilt for choice but Andre Ayew was very low in the pecking order.
Deschamps was honest with the son of club legend Abedi Ayew by letting him know the competition for first team football was too big for the current Ghana captain to beat. Andre then left for loan to gain more playing time- not in the La Liga or the EPL or the Bundesliga of Germany – but at Arles-Avignon a little club playing in the second-tier competition of France – the Ligue 2.
Didier had Mamadou Niang the Senegalese legend in the Provence as his first choice attacker as well as Mathieu Valbuena.There were also the Brazilian forward Brandao, Ivorian Bakary Kone, talented youngsters Hatem Ben Arfa, Jordan Ayew and former Real Madrid forward Fernando Morientes.
Marseille won the Ligue 1 that season. Andre Ayew – determined to make it at top level football – was a hit at Avignon scoring 4 goals in 25 league games in the second tier to help Avignon get promoted to the Ligue 1. Deschamps was impressed and called him back into the first team in the 2010/11 season and he became a first team regular till the summer of 2015 that Swansea City came for him.
After Didier Deschamps confirmed that Ayew would be returning to the team and that he will be earning some significant playing time with the club for the 2010–11 season the Ghanaian winger signed a three-year contract extension with Marseille all thanks to a point proved in an inferior league – the Ligue 2.
After leaving Fenerbahce in Turkey where he spent a season loan last season, Ayew came back to Swansea City with a bigger bang as the former Premier League side pushes for a return to the top flight.
This season in the Championship – the second tier in English football – Andre has been one of the top performers week in week out scoring impressive 13 goals in 36 league matches for Swansea City.
Obviously as we have seen this is not the first time Andre is making headiness in a second tier. It is part of his make-up to give his best wherever he plays. Wherever he founds himself be it in a top European league or a second-tier he does his job with the same passion and determination and it is this mentality that sets Andre apart from the rest.
