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Soccer News of Friday, 22 June 2001

Source: BBC

Ayew Transfer Listed!

Sporting Lisbon have said they want to again sell Ghanaian international Kwame Ayew, who has returned to Portugal from his brief spell with Turkish club Yozgatsport.

The decision promises further frustration for the 27-year-old, who scored last month for his country in their last World Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone.

Sporting surprisingly put Ayew up for sale at the start of the 2000/1 season, despite his being part of the team that helped Sporting to win their first championship in a decade.

But it took months before the younger brother of Abedi Pele found a club, eventually going to the Turkish provincial side after enquiries from England and Germany came to nothing.

Now the Portuguese club, who play in the UEFA Cup next season, say that Ayew 's style of play does not suit their plans for the new season.

Sporting have hired former Romanian national team boss Ladislau Boloni as their new coach and already stepped into the transfer market in search of re-enforcements after failing to hold onto their title.

Ayew has been told he can look around for a new club although the club will be seeking a transfer fee and are not prepared to give him a free transfer.

Ayew spent just one season with the Lions, who had bought him from Boavista, where he scored 31 goals in just two seasons. Boavista won the Portuguese championship in May for the first time in the club's history.

Ayew, who won a bronze with Ghana's under-23 side at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, also played at Uniao Leiria and Vitoria Setubal in Portugal after two seasons at Lecce in Italy's Serie A.

He also spent time in Qatar before moving to Europe in late 1993.