Jordan Ayew pulls away from Tony Yeboah as Ghana’s top Premier League scorer

Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew became the highest-scoring Ghanaian in Premier League history when he netted to help the Eagles to victory over Bournemouth on Saturday.

The forward’s first-half strike ensured a 2-0 away triumph at Vitality Stadium on the return of the top-flight after a coronavirus suspension.

The goal was his ninth of the season, the match his 29th.

But there was more to the strike than just drawing him closer to double figures as it put Ayew clear as the highest-scoring Ghanaian in the history of the Premier League with 25 goals.

He was tied with former Leeds United forward Anthony Yeboah on 24 goals ahead of Saturday’s fixture.

Seven of the France-born’s strikes came while he was on the books of Aston Villa, eight while with Swansea City and 10 at Palace.

🇬🇭 Jordan Ayew: The highest-scoring Ghanian in Premier League history (25).#CPFC pic.twitter.com/e2SBNMIvju

— Crystal Palace F.C. (H) (@CPFC) June 20, 2020

Ayew reached the 25 goal mark in 129 matches while Yeboah scored his 24 goals in 47 appearances.

Andre Ayew, Jordan’s older brother, is third on the Ghana chart with 21 goals in 87 outings, having played for Swansea and West Ham United.

Former Chelsea ace Michael Essien occupies the fourth position, with 17 goals in 168 matches, while ex-Sunderland star Asamoah Gyan is fifth with 10 goals in 34 matches.

Jordan is also on the brink of breaking another record, this time at Palace, with eight more matches to the end of the season.

The attacker’s goals have so far won Palace 14 points this term, leaving him just one point behind Andrew Johnson’s contribution in 2004-05 as no single player has collected the Eagles more points in Premier League history.

Ayew’s big moment on Saturday came in the 23rd minute when he shot into the bottom-left corner from close range after Patrick van Aanholt delivered a good ball into the box. 

Captain Luka Milivojevic had put the Eagles in front 11 minutes earlier, curling a sweet free-kick into the net after Wilfried Zaha was fouled by David Brooks outside the box.

Ayew joined Palace in January 2019 for a half-season loan stint from Swansea. Despite a frustrating spell which yielded only one league goal, the striker was on a permanent deal at the end of the season.

He first came to England in 2015, signing for Villa from French side Lorient. In January 2017, he left for Swansea.

While in France, Ayew also played for Sochaux and Olympique Marseille.