Swansea City: Jordan Ayew says older brother Andre told him to join

Andre Ayew (L) and his brother Jordan share a joke at Ghana training in January, 2017

Jordan Ayew says he joined Swansea City on the advice of his older brother and ex-Swan Andre Ayew.

The 25-year old signed for the Swans on deadline day, joining the club his brother left for West Ham in August.

"My original thought was that this was the right place for me, but when I spoke to Andre he said at once that I should come here as quickly as possible," he told BBC Wales Sport.

"I'm so grateful to be here. I'm one of the happiest people in the world."

Ayew could make his Swansea debut in their 'relegation six pointer' with Leicester City.

Following in Andre's footsteps

Andre Ayew was a fan favourite at Swansea City and finished as the club's top scorer last season

Ayew says he already felt an affinity towards the Swans after his brother was top scorer for the club in 2015-16 and that persuaded him to turn his back on a return to France.

"When I heard about I was pleased because I used to come here last season often because of my brother," he explained.

"I knew a lot about the club and my brother told me that was the best decision for me to go to Swansea instead of go back to France or another country.

"I had opportunities to go back to France or other countries.

"But the most important thing for me was to stay in the Premier League and come to a club where they play good football, the project is good and the club wants to become a big club.

"I'm still young and I need to join a club that needs to grow - it is the best decision for me.

"My brother said fantastic things. But he didn't need to talk too much.

"I saw it myself when I came here last season. I never knew that I would be here today, but in life you can not predict and I'm so happy.

"Like I said, for me it was simple. I spoke to my brother because my brother is like my lawyer.

"It's a fantastic club which is growing. It's a fantastic place to enjoy your football."

Faith that the Swans can survive

Ayew, who was relegated last season with Aston Villa, is desperate to avoid the same fate this term.

"It's like a race now," he said. "It's going to be tough.

"But we have won games which people predicted we would have lost - like Liverpool and maybe Southampton - and now we have three or four games coming up against teams who are fighting against relegation.

"In a month or two we can may be in a good position.

'Relegated at Villa in January'

"As a player you never want to get relegated. At Villa we knew we would be in the Championship in January and that was difficult because you have two or three months just to play.

"That is difficult mentally when you know you are going to play in the Championship, but I don't like to talk about it because this is a new chapter for me.

"For the past year and a half, I have not really enjoyed my football.

"I want to do that again and do something new. Swansea have given me the chance to come here and I just want to do my best and make everyone happy."