Following the capture of left-back Arthur Masuaku from Olympiacos, West Ham has announced the signing of striker Andre Ayew.
The Hammers had been surprisingly quiet in the transfer window before today, but have made moves on Monday which fill big holes in the squad.
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Ayew, 26, spent just one season with Swansea City - a successful one - scoring 12 goals in 34 Premier League appearances. He had a number of big moments, including an 86th minute winner over Aston Villa, plus a stellar one-goal, one-assist performance in a 2-1 win over Manchester United.
I am delighted to announce the transfer of outstanding Ghana forward Andre Ayew for a Club-record £20.5M fee. dg pic.twitter.com/4Hh4aCsgmG
— David Gold (@davidgold) August 8, 2016
He now becomes the club’s record transfer capture, with a $22.7 million price tag.
Ayew joins a suddenly stacked West Ham strike group of Andy Carroll, Ashley Fletcher, Enner Valencia, and Diafra Sakho. The latter is expected to be sold after becoming unsettled following West Ham’s search for a new striker. The Ghanan international also rejoins Dimitri Payet, his former teammate at Marseille from 2013 to 2015, when both were offloaded to the Premier League.
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On the other end, Ayew’s departure leaves Swansea City dangerously thin up front. The sole first-team striker is loanee Fernando Llorente, backed up by Marvin Emnes who played just twice in the Premier League last season.