[ 2011-04-09 ]

Andrew Ayew denies Arsenal link
Ghana international Andre Ayew revealed he was not
interested in a move to English Premier League
sides Arsenal and Liverpool. The 21-year-old
insisted he was happy at Ligue 1 side Olympique
Marseille and intended to stay at the club. Ayew
has been linked with both Arsenal and Liverpool
for some time now, but he made it very clear he
was not looking for a Marseille exit any time
soon.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was reportedly willing
to pay £5 million for the Marseille winger, while
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is ready to offer
£10 million in an attempt to lure Ayew to
Anfield. Dalglish has made it clear he is in the
market for a winger this summer and Ayew seems to
fit the bill; the youngster has been very
impressive this season.

Ayew initially joined the Marseille under-17 team
and worked his way up to the senior squad in 2007
after he scored 11 goals in his debut season. His
first senior season with the club was not as
eventful; he made 14 appearances and did not
manage any goals or assists. Despite interest from
other clubs, Marseille retained the services of
Ayew and sent him on a loan move to Lorient.

The Ghanaian gained valuable playing experience at
Lorient but was still restricted to the role of a
substitute. He still managed to make 22
appearances in the league and scored three goals
in his time with Lorient. He then returned to
Marseille, only to be sent out on loan to newly
promoted Ligue 1 side AC Arles-Avignon for the
2009-2010 season.

He did relatively well at the former Ligue 2 side,
in 26 appearances he went on to score 4 goals and
provided 3 assists. After two seasons on loan,
Ayew finally returned to Marseille and signed a
three year contract extension to mark his return.
So far he has made 32 appearances and has found
the back of the net 8 times.

Ayew insisted he wished to remain with Marseille,
he said while speaking to reporters, “These
speculations won’t affect me at all because I am
only focused on doing one thing and that’s
helping my club Marseille this season… I will
continue to play my heart out for my club as we
want to win trophies and not to concentrate on
what the media is speculating.”

He continued, “Marseille is a great club and I
am well here. I love the supporters and the
manager treats me well so I look forward to being
here for a long time.” It seems the young winger
will remain with the French outfit, who are
unwilling to let him go for anything less than
£15 million.

Source - GRi

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