Jordan Ayew: Being overweight stopped me making a big impact in first season at Crystal Palace

BY SAM SMITH

Jordan Ayew believes being overweight at the start of his Crystal Palace career is a key difference between his struggles last campaign and his excellent form in 2019-20.

The Ghanaian, 28, scored his fifth goal of the season with a wonderful solo effort in the Eagles’ 2-1 victory over West Ham. He scored just once in the Premier League throughout the whole of last season.

Ayew told Amazon Prime Video: “This season is different because last season when I came to the football club I didn’t have a pre-season. I was overweight so it was a difficult season for me but this season I had the chance to have a full pre-season and I’m feeling better.

“I’m feeling relaxed at this football club and I’m enjoying it. Everything is perfect for me to be good on the pitch.

“This football club has a lot of faith in me because with the season I had last season, people didn’t think they would sign me. The manager especially told me he wanted to keep me for this season and I told him straight away: ‘Yes’. I wanted to stay.

“Since I’ve been in England I’ve been moving around and now I have stability. My family is comfortable here in London and everything is perfect.”