Marseille Scout: I Find It A Shame That Andre Ayew Is Going

Jose Anigo has confirmed Ghana international has not extended his contract with the club.

Olympique de Marseille’s African scout Jose Anigo believes that Ghana’s Andre Ayew will leave the Stade Velodrome when his contract comes to an end this summer.

“Andre Ayew has made it,” Anigo began, speaking to Telefoot, “I was lucky to have discovered him.

“I find it a shame that he’s going. He hasn’t extended his contract, I have the impression that he will go.”

Anigo played for OM during the 1980s and has since served the club as a caretaker coach, a scout and latterly, as the head of the club’s African scouting network.

Throughout the year, Marseille have failed to tie Ayew down to a new deal. Despite his father, OM and Ghana great Abedi Pele, insisting that Dede wanted to remain at the Stade Velodrome, Ayew maintained that it was up to the Olympians to offer him an acceptable deal.

An offer deemed appropriate by the player, it seems, has not been forthcoming and Anigo, who played a crucial role in Ayew’s development at the club, appears resigned to losing the West African this summer.

The news will come as a blow for OM, who look more likely than ever to lose one of their key assets for nothing at the end of the current campaign. Anigo's admission suggests that the club’s reported financial problems mean that they cannot stretch to offer Ayew an appropriate salary, despite a desire to retain him.

For the player’s many suitors, however, Anigo’s comments will come as encouragement that one of Europe’s finest players in his position will soon be a free agent.

Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Queens Park Rangers, Everton, Inter Milan and AS Roma are among the sides to have been linked with the player.

Ayew has been with OM since 2005 when he joined as a youth team player. He made his Ligue 1 debut in 2007 as a substitute against Valenciennes and has since gone on to emerge as one of the team’s key players.

He has made 20 Ligue 1 appearances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side so far this season, scoring six times and contributing two assists. Ayew’s consistent performances have helped the team keep pace with the division’s top two, Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain, and with nine games to play, Marseille are still firmly in the French title race.

Source: Goal