Alan Curtis insists Andre Ayew will not be leaving Swansea City this month, amidst speculation linking him with a move to Sunderland.
It was reported by Sky Sports last week that the Black Cats had tabled an offer for the Ghana star, who joined Swansea on a free transfer upon the expiry of his Marseille contract last summer. This looks like one of the shrewdest acquisitions of that window, with the 26-year-old impressing at the Liberty Stadium despite the struggles of the Welsh side.
Sam Allardyce’s side are also firmly involved in a relegation fight, and it had been suggested that he was prepared to pay around £12million to lure Ayew from the Swans. However, Curtis claims he knows nothing of this supposed interest, and even if there was a concrete approach for the forward, there is little chance that the club would be willing to let him go.
“There was talk of him going to Sunderland or them making a bid,” said Curtis. “But we wouldn’t even entertain that as far as I am concerned. He is one of a number of big players for us and we don’t want to lose anybody during the window. We want to bring people in and we will get somebody in. But if we don’t it’s important no one else goes out through the door.”
Swansea, meanwhile, eased their relegation fears with a much-needed 1-0 win over Watford on Monday night, a result which lifted them out of the bottom three at the expense of Newcastle United. Francesco Guidolin was in the stands to watch this win, and the Italian will take charge of first team affairs for the rest of the season, with Curtis working alongside him.
“I’ve always said I was quite happy to do that if the club thought it was necessary,” he said. “If we had won more games, then possibly, it might not have been needed. I think the performances have been excellent but we haven’t had the results. We could have been further on but by bringing in an experienced coach we can turn those performances into points.”
