Cast your mind back a few weeks to the last game of the season. The 2-1 victory away to Burnley feels like a distant memory now. Can you name our scorers in that game? To save you googling it, I can remind you that it was Sofiane Feghouli and Andre Ayew.
Certain players started to perform much better in the final few games. In my mind, Andre Ayew was part of this very small performance group. In recent weeks, he has been subject to potential moves away from the club. Should he stay or should he go?
Ayew's arrival at the beginning of last season sparked a fair amount of positivity. As we all know, the main narrative of last year was the injury list. When a player is out for so long, the recovery period can reflect the opinions on their ability.
The stand out argument to keep Ayew, is the type of goals he scores. Lanzini delights us with the out of the box screamer or cheeky chip from an impossible angle. Looking at Ayew, his goals come from the 'right place, at the right time' positions. The goal against Burnley is a perfect example of his awareness and position play.
In the last six games (stats whoscored.com) Ayew scored twice and provided two assists. Hardly prolific, but he made a difference in gaining valuable points.
You would expect West Ham to finalise a deal for Marko Arnautović in the coming weeks. Should we keep Ayew, then I imagine they would be competing for a similar position? Assuming Lanzini and Antonio are regular starters. Arnautović scored 6 goals last season, the same as Ayew, who played fewer minutes.
Looking at the last six games, Ayew performed better as well. Arnautović provided two assists but only scored one goal. Going by statistics, it looks like we should keep Andre Ayew. At 27, he should be playing at his prime and worthy of another shot in a West Ham shirt next season.
The obvious position that needs investment is a good striker. We can not afford to get this wrong again. I would much prefer to use the Arnautović money to finance Javier Hernández and Olivier Giroud.
The recent rumour in replacing Andre Ayew with Nacer Chadli feels like a great deal for West Brom. A forward three in Lanzini, Antonio and Ayew could make all the difference to West Hams attack. Each player offers a unique style of play. The positioning play we referred to earlier, could see a rewarding return of goals for Ayew.
Not only should West Ham keep Andre Ayew, you should also stick him in your Fantasy Football team. Like many West Ham fans, I can see the Fantasy league game over-looking him and list Andre at cheap transfer fee.
All together now! Boom, Boom, Boom! Everybody back Ayew! Ayew!