Swansea City: Andre Ayew to leave on free transfer but Wayne Routledge offered deal
- Published
Andre Ayew saluted Swansea City's fans after the club's play-off final defeat by Brentford
Record signing Andre Ayew will leave Swansea City on a free transfer when his contract expires this month.
Ghana captain Ayew, 31, has scored 35 goals in 106 appearances since rejoining Swansea from West Ham for an initial £18m in January 2018.
Ayew's salary - he is Swansea's top earner by a distance - meant his exit was inevitable after the club missed out on promotion to the Premier League.
Veteran forward Wayne Routledge has been offered a new deal.
The 36-year-old is Swansea's longest-serving player having racked up more than 300 appearances since joining the club in 2011.
Routledge told BBC Sport Wales last month he was not sure if his time in Wales as about to end and he then suffered a serious knee injury in the play-off semi-final second leg against Barnsley on 22 May.
Ayew originally joined Swansea on a free transfer from Marseille in 2015 and, after one impressive top-flight season in which he scored 12 goals in 35 appearances, joined West Ham for £20.5m.
He returned 18 months later in what remains a club-record deal but could not save Swansea from Premier League relegation.
Ayew spent the following season on loan at Fenerbahce, but came back to Swansea in 2019 and has ended the last two campaigns as boss Steve Cooper's leading scorer.
His final appearance for the club came in last Saturday's play-off final defeat by Brentford at Wembley.
There was a belief Ayew would be handed a new deal had Swansea won that game, but a 2-0 reverse spelt the end of his time at the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea have also released Barrie McKay, who has spent the last 18 months on loan at Fleetwood, and Wales international Declan John, who impressed while on loan at Bolton last season.
Kieron Freeman, who made just one appearance after joining for £100,000 from Swindon in January, and former Real Madrid youngster Jordi Govea have also been given free transfers.
Swansea have also seen loan signings Freddie Woodman, Marc Guehi and Conor Hourihane depart following the Brentford loss, while questions remain about the long-term future of Cooper.
The Swansea head coach has only a year to run on his contract and has been linked with Crystal Palace.
Swansea scholars Scott Butler and Michael Murphy have been offered first professional deals, while youngsters Ali Al-Hamadi, Jacob Jones and Jamie Searle have been offered fresh terms.
Geoff Bony, son of former Swans striker Wilfried, and Joel Cotterill, cousin of Liberty Stadium old boy David, are among the academy players offered two-year scholarships, while Ryan Bevan, Matthew Blake, Bradley Gibbings, Alex Rutter and Jake Thomas join Govea in leaving the club.