I want to reach 100 appearances for the Black Stars – Andre Ayew

Ghana captain Andre Ayew has revealed that one of his ambitions is to reach 100 appearances for the Black Stars and ultimately win a trophy to crown what he describes as a ‘childhood dream’ with the senior national football team.

Andre Ayew, the second son of Ghana football legend Abedi Pele Ayew, first played for the Black Stars as a 17year old, and after over a decade with the national team, he now has 84 appearances under his belt.

Despite his exploits for the senior national team, the former Marseille man is best remembered for leading the national U-20 side, the Black Satellites in 2009 to conquer the world and become World Youth Champions, beating powerhouse Brazil in the finals to become the first and only African side to achieve that feat.

A veteran of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, Ayew said it is the desire to keep playing for the national team which made him speak to Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah before pledging his future to Swansea.

"That was important because the national team is very, very important for me.

"He said: 'It's a very good league and if that's your decision I am okay as long as you are fit and you do what you have always done with the national team'," Ayew explains.

Speaking to the BBC on a wide range of topics last week Ayew said “ I am close to winning 90 caps so I’m trying to keep on going, keep on working hard. I’ll try and hit the 100 (caps) as soon as possible.

"I have always represented my country with a lot of honour and a lot of pride. I am very proud of where I am from and of what any Ghanaian is doing. We have always tried to raise the flag really high."

Andre Ayew is currently playing Championship football for Swansea City despite the club spending much of the summer trying to offload him.

He maintains that despite interests to move, the final decision to stay and play in the Championship was ultimately his.

"There were a lot of possibilities for me to move," Ayew says.

"As soon as I got back I felt the desire from the manager, the players - they wanted me to stay - and for sure the fans. That was special to me.

"When I felt that I started to think maybe we have to go for it again.

"We were talking about finding a solution with other clubs. I said if I don't find something which suits me 100 per cent I am not going to move just to say I play in Ligue 1 or Serie A or the Premier League.

"The truth of the matter is a part of me wanted to stay here. A few days before the end of the market I told my agent: 'I have made my decision and I want to stay'."