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Afcon 2021 qualifiers: Swansea City announce Andre Ayew Ghana call-up amid South Africa travel concerns
Black Stars coach CK Akonnor has requested the services of his captain despite the reluctance of his club
Swansea City top scorer Andre Ayew has been called up for Ghana's upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, the club has confirmed.
The availability of the 31-year-old for the upcoming double-header against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe on March 25 and 28 respectively has been unclear, owing to concerns of possibly missing a run of games for The Jack Army.
Due to coronavirus safety protocols, international arrivals into the United Kingdom ordinarily ought to quarantine for 10 days.
That Ghana's game with South Africa is an away fixture, has compounded issues as the latter are on the United Kingdom's red list of coronavirus risk, a situation which will require Ayew to undergo mandatory hotel quarantine for 10 days before joining up with the Swansea squad again.
"Swansea vice-captain Andre Ayew, meanwhile, has been called up by Ghana," the Jack Army wrote on their official website on Thursday.
Third-placed Swansea are currently in a good position to secure a return to the Premier League, a spot highly boosted by the Ghanaian who has so far registered 14 goals in 35 Championship matches involving 34 starts for Cooper's outfit.
Goal understands Swansea will only release Ayew to Ghana on condition that he is excused from the trip to South Africa and only joins the Black Stars for the home clash with Sao Tome.
The attacker has been highly influential for the Black Stars, having registered four goals in his last two appearances in all competitions.
“There's been some stuff written about some Premier League players. I’m not too sure exactly how that's going to look,” Cooper said on the dilemma of clubs concerning the upcoming international break during a presser earlier this month.
“We haven’t even had a call-up for Andre yet to say that he’s going. I imagine we would, with him being the captain of Ghana.
“But what the stance is going to be on that throughout football, I’m not too sure. But I know there are some decisions to be made going forward. We’ve got four games to play first before that, but I know that's coming.
“There have been games moved in the Champions League I would imagine for Covid restrictions.
"I haven’t given it much thought but I don’t think this situation is not just going to be about Andre and Swansea, I think there's going to be a whole host of players that represent countries outside of Europe and with the travel restrictions that are going to be in a similar boat, so I imagine football will take a bit of a lead on it and we can make a decision from there."
Ghana are currently top of Group C ahead of the last two rounds of matches.
Black Stars coach CK Akonnor is expected to announce his final squad for the upcoming fixtures on Friday.
