Swansea City coach Carvalhal impressed with Jordan Ayew’s performance against Arsenal

Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal has heaped praise on Jordan Ayew following the club’s 3-1 thrashing of Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday at the Liberty Stadium.

A Nacho Monreal’s strike by the 33rd minute gave Wenger’s side a deserving lead but Sam Clucas’ brace, which was sandwiched by Ayew’s goal, turned the game on its head for Swansea.

Ayew benefited from a howler by Petr Cech in the second half before he forced his way into Arsenal box to set up Clucas for the third goal of the night.

“I think we prepare very well for the game, but even if you prepare well, you will get nothing if the players do not believe in what you are doing,” Carvalhal told the club’s website.

“So all the credit must go to all my players. All of the players I think are improving. When the dynamic of the team is good, that happens.

“One day, it can be Sam Clucas (who impresses), one day Jordan Ayew, one day Leroy Fer, who is jumping to another level,” he said.

He added: “We knew what would happen in this game – we knew Arsenal would have the ball more because they do that against almost every side.

“But we blocked their dynamic. They like to play between the lines and we blocked them, which meant they had a huge problem creating goalscoring situations.

“A fundamental thing in the game was that our defensive transitions were very strong. Arsenal can hurt you in these situations, but Jordan Ayew was absolutely amazing in the way he received the ball and waited for the second line of players.

“This was crucial for us. We knew if we could do it, we would create chances and we had three or four in the first half.”

Ayew has scored now scored five goals in 25 appearances as the Swans gradually move away from the relegation zone.

They will travel to King Power Stadium next weekend to lock horns with Leicester City.

West Ham reject Swansea’s offer for Ayew, Carvalhal told to improve bid

The Hammers boss has advised the Welsh club to improve their bid for the Ghana international

West Ham United manager David Moyes has insisted that Swansea City must improve their offer for Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew in order to trigger a move.

The 28-year-old joined the Hammers in 2016 from Swansea for a club record fee of €24 million but due to injuries he has been unable to replicate the form that prompted the London-based club to break the bank for his services.

He has made 18 league appearances this season including nine starts, scoring three goals.

Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal wants him back at Liberty Stadium to join their fight to beat the drop.

The Swans currently sit bottom on the log with 20 points, three points below safety.

“I never said we want anyone to go. If someone comes up we will look at it but as far as I am concerned, no-one is going,” Moyes was quoted as saying by Tribal Football.

“I think there has been an offer [for Andre Ayew] but we wouldn’t accept the current bid as it is,” he added.

Andre Ayew could reunite with younger brother Jordan at Swansea if a deal is eventually struck.

Swansea City coach Carvalhal not ready to start Bony ahead of Ayew

Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal has insisted that he won’t rush Wilfried Bony’s return to the starting line-up ahead of Ghanaian striker Jordan Ayew since the former only recovered fully from a troublesome injury.
Bony who has enjoyed a limited game time this season, came on for Ayew in the Welsh side’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool on Monday to breath back life into their fight to avoid relegation.

“Bony has been involved in three games,” Carvalhal was quoted as saying by Wales Online.

“The first was in the Cup at Wolves, after he had been injured. I put him in to improve the tempo, the performance was not good, but I could not expect more than that because he had only trained three or four times.

“He hasn’t played too much [like Jordan Ayew who always start] and I prefer that a player like that can really effect the game. Even if it’s only 30 minutes, I prefer that at a high level than a whole game where he has to protect himself.

“If he plays the whole 90 minutes when he is not fit, then the players can lose confidence and the team can lose games also,” he added.

Swansea are at the foot of the EPL log with 20 points, three points below safety.

Jordan Ayew draws praise from Swansea coach Carvalhal

Swansea City coach Carlos Carvalhal has expressed his happiness following the recent rise in performance of Ghana striker Jordan Ayew.

The 26-year-old was on target in Swansea’s 2-1 victory over Championship log leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup on Wednesday.

Ayews scored a brilliant goal on 11th minute after he went past five defenders. Substitute Jota equalised for Wolves in the second half but Wilfred Bony snatched the match-winner with a calm finish.

 

“In the five games I’ve been in charge, we’ve won two, drawn two and lost one. This was the best match we’ve played, especially in the first half and we posed Wolves lots of problems,” Carvalhal told the press after the game.

“We controlled the first 45 minutes, but after that the tempo was down. We let Wolves get a goal, but we got a second and then we closed the door and made it very difficult.

“It was a great goal from Jordan and he deserves it. He is a fighter and works very hard for the team.

“I’m proud of my players and now we are building confidence and momentum,” he added.

Ayew has scored seven goals in all competitions this season including four in the Premier League.

Swansea will face League Two promotion contenders Notts County in the next round of matches.