'He did more' - Chris Wilder praises Jordan Ayew and makes admission about Sheffield United summer signing
Jordan Ayew stored some more valuable minutes under his belt in Sheffield United’s defeat to Fleetwood Town.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder admitted he took some encouragement from Jordan Ayew’s cameo performance after he featured from the bench in Wednesday night’s 1-0 defeat to Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup.
United bowed out of the competition at the third-round stage against the League Two side after Rhys Norrington-Davies scored a disastrous own goal 12 minutes into the second half.
Ayew was introduced immediately after the Blades went behind, coming on with 32 minutes remaining alongside fellow attacker Ben Brereton Díaz. Ayew, who joined the Blades on a free transfer last week, is still in the process of building up his match sharpness after completing the final 26 minutes of Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Bramall Lane.
The Ghanaian’s cameo featured 13 touches of the ball, a 100 per cent pass completion rate, one successful dribble, five carries and one big chance created, meaning he offered more than several of his teammates, who banked more than the 32 minutes he was given.
Wilder was pleased with his contribution, saying: “Jordan came on and showed [what he can do]. I know there’s been a bit of noise regarding Jordan and Jordan signing.
“He did more in 10-15 minutes from when he came on and showed why he’s played in the Premier League, played 500 games and played 100 times for his country. He came on and went and got after the game.”
The United boss, who was furious with his side’s overall performance, was also pleased by Brereton Díaz’s efforts after he tried to influence proceedings after coming off the bench.
“Ben Brereton Díaz has come on and got after the game,” Wilder added. “I think one of the things I’m going to take away tonight is that you want really big problems. I wanted a problem going into Thursday and Friday and who to pick on Saturday.
“I haven’t got a problem now. I know exactly what players that I need to pick and which players are not playing for a reason.”