Andre Ayew could become another born-again striker at Swansea City – hot on the heels of Borja Baston.
Ayew was expected to move from the Liberty Stadium this summer, but with no buyers willing to take a punt on the 29-year-old Ghana international, he will return to training with the club on Sunday.
The former West Ham and Marseille striker had been given extra time off to recover from his efforts at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Now, the Swans will still look to get Ayew off their wage-bill if a European club – with a later domestic transfer deadline – comes in with a bid.
But in the meantime, manager Steve Cooper has insisted Ayew could yet be a useful – if unexpected – asset to his Championship squad this season.
That turnaround has already happened with Borja, who scored his first Swansea goal for over a thousand says in last week’s opening day victory over Hull City.
“Like with Borja, there’s obviously a recent history with these guys, but my process was to have a conversation with Andre, which went very well, and I’m looking forward to him joining the group on Sunday,” said Cooper.
“He’s played at a higher level than the Championship. But he’s back and he’s had a well-earned break after international duty.
“I met him this week and we had a good conversation. He’s done his testing to get up to speed.
“We need to make sure the performance staff are aware of where he’s at. He’ll join the group in training and hopefully he’ll play a part.”
Cooper said it was “possible” Ayew could end up staying for the whole season, which would be a remarkable turnaround for a player who last played for the club in May 2018, the season that ended with relegation from the Premier League.
Ayew played just 10 games for the Swans that season, following a mixed 18-month spell at West Ham where he scored nine goals in 43 matches.
Ayew’s move to the Hammers was a brilliant piece of financial business for Swansea, who sold him for £20m after signing him from Marseille for nothing.
Less shrewd was the Swans’ decision to re-sign Ayew for £18m – an investment that yielded no goals and just 12 appearances from the January onwards as the club were relegated.
Ayew spent last season on loan at Fenerbahce in Turkey, where he did not impress sufficiently for the club to want to make the move permanent.
Now – after five goals in 34 games in Turkey – Ayew is back in Wales and could challenge new signings Kristoffer Peterson and Aldo Kalulu, as well as Borja, for a place in Cooper’s front line.
Cooper has admitted it was no real shock to find himself without his two most valuable players in Daniel James and Oli McBurnie at the end of the transfer window.
But he insists he is happy with the make-up of his squad after the arrivals of six new faces in Jake Bidwell, Ben Wilmot, Freddie Woodman, Peterson, Kalulu and Sam Surridge
“We know there are some high-profile lads leaving with Dan James and Oli, which wasn’t a real surprise,” he added.
“But at the same time we’ve been active in terms of bringing players in. I’m looking forward to doing the best we can for the club.
“I don’t think there’ll be a manager across the country saying they wouldn’t want something more.
“But it’s all about looking forward now. At least now we can get settled and we look forward to keep on building