Crystal Palace manager, Roy Hodgson has shared his excitement following Jordan Ayew’s return to the team from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ayew was part of the Black Stars team that exited at group stage at the continental showpiece after failing to secure victory in their last group game against Mozambique.
His brace against Mozambique was not enough as the Black Stars suffered an early exit at the tournament.
The 32-year-old was immediately handed a starting role in the game against Sheffield United on Tuesday evening as the Eagles defeated the Blades 3-2 at Selhurst Park.
“I think when they're playing –and Jordan [Ayew] too, because he's come back from the African Cup [of Nations] and we've missed him for three or four weeks, and [Jean-Philippe] Mateta, to be fair, he's played exceptionally well – with those four players in our side, I think we create chances in a totally different way and cause problems for teams in a totally different way than perhaps we've been able to do when we've not had them,” Hodgson said after the game.
“But that's the same for every team [if] you take out the most creative players, the most talented players. It would be nice if I'd been able, in some of these games we've been playing, to put three or four players who I think are very good players in the team and even the teams up a little bit, but you can't do that.
“But I've always believed that the team has got a lot of quality, and I think in the first-half in particular, I thought we showed that. Over the first 60 minutes, we really showed it.”