David Moyes blasts Andre Ayew after West Ham departure

West Ham United manager David Moyes has told fans in his London Evening Standard column that he did not want to sell Andre Ayew to Swansea City in January, but the attacker had made it clear he wanted to leave.

The 28-year-old rejoined Swansea just a year and a half after leaving the Welsh side to move to the London Stadium in the summer of 2016. He came back to haunt the Hammers last weekend.

The Ghana international laid on two assists for Carlos Carvalhal's side as the Hammers suffered a 4-1 defeat inspired by the former Marseille attacker, leaving fans to question their club's decision to sell the versatile forward.

But Moyes has decided to criticise the attacker, stating that he made it clear he no longer wanted to play for the east Londoners in January despite the Hammers being desperate to keep their squad intact.

"Andre Ayew did well enough for Swansea but don’t forget that he didn’t want to stay," Moyes said. "At the time we weren’t that keen to lose anyone to our competitors but he made it 100 per cent clear he did not want to be at West Ham any longer."

Costing a princely sum of £20million, Ayew managed just 12 goals in 50 league and cup appearances for the Hammers, which equates to around £1.7million per goal.

The Hammers' focus turns to Saturday as they look to get back to winning ways against Burnley, after suffering more injury problems this week with Winston Reid and Sam Byram being ruled out until the end of the season.

Moyes' men remain just three points above the relegation zone and a win against the Clarets on Saturday is crucial if the east Londoners are to avoid the drop.