Ayew voted Crystal Palace player of the year

Majority of football writers at sportsmole.co.uk have voted Ghanaian marksman Jordan Ayew as Crystal Palace’s Player of the Year.

The 28-year-old Ghanaian forward registered eight goals and an assist in 28 league games this season before the deadly Coronavirus pandemic halted football activities in the UK.

Ayew’s goals ensure that the Eagles won three games in a row after winning just one of their previous 12 to distance themselves from the relegation spots.

Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita has been impressive too with some eye catching displays to make sure Roy Hodgson’s side are just only one point behind the 40-point mark which has always ensured a team’s safety in the league.

Here are the views of Sports Mole team on who they think has been Palace’s player of the season so far.

Barney Corkhill, Editor:

Considering Crystal Palace’s poor attacking record this season it seems somewhat counter-intuitive to select a striker as their best player of the campaign, but in a squad where few individuals have stood out, Jordan Ayew has been Palace’s most important member for me.

The 28-year-old has scored eight of Palace’s 26 goals, and crucially five of those have been winning goals – only the Liverpool trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have been responsible for more winners.

Ayew’s goals have been the difference between Hodgson’s side battling for a place in the top half or fighting against relegation, and a special mention must also go to his goal-of-the-season contender against West Ham United.

Matt Law, Football Editor:

The likes of Vicente Guaita and Gary Cahill deserve praise for their performances this season, but Jordan Ayew, in my opinion, deserves to be named Palace’s player of the season.

The 29-year-old has managed eight Premier League goals this term and his form has been particularly important considering that the team’s star man Wilfried Zaha has registered just three league goals.

Only Zaha (29) has made more league appearances than Ayew (28) for Roy Hodgson’s side this term, while the attacker has scored the winner in Palace’s last two league games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford. One thing is for sure, the Eagles would not be 11th in the table at this stage without Ayew’s goals.

Darren Plant, Senior Reporter:

On six occasions, Palace have prevailed by one-goal margins when Ayew has made an impact in the final third, which includes a goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

However, five of his other seven strikes have come against teams below Palace in the table, meaning that the versatile attacker has been the major difference between a relegation battle.

Dan Lewis, Senior Reporter:

Despite netting just one top-flight goal during last season’s loan spell, Ayew clearly did enough to persuade Palace to pay Swansea City £2.5m to sign him permanently last July.

That has to go down as one of the best signings of the summer transfer window as the Ghanaian has eight goals to his name.