Endorsement: Aston Villa consulted me over Jordan Ayew - Odartey Lamptey

Nii Odartey Lamptey, who played for Aston Villa in the 1990's, has indicated that he was consulted by the English side before their decision to sign Jordan Ayew.

The 23-year-old was signed for a fee of £ 8.5 million as direct replacement for Christian Benteke who has joined Liverpool. The former Marseille trainee enjoyed his best club football last season after scoring 13 goals for French Ligue 1 side Lorient.

Odartey Lamptey believes, Jordan Ayew will be a big hit in the English Premier League and as a result recommended him to his former club.

'It is a very good move and this is what we (ex-footballers) expect of the young ones,' he told Metro fm

'Some of the leadership of Aston Villa called to enquire about Jordan Ayew from me. I believe he (Jordan) is the next striker Ghana would bank our hopes on after Asamoah Gyan, so I recommended him and they took the advice and signed him.

'They asked that do I foresee Jordan improves in the next 5 years and I answered positively. He is a young chap of about 22 years, thus he would be top notch striker in the next 2 to 3 years.

'Aston Villa want players that can mature and grow, so that in the future they can also cash on him. The sort of potentials Jordan has, he will make it in England: He has height, pace and skillful and I was able to persuade Aston Villa based on some of these qualities.'

The former Black Stars player added that, he has in several circumstances recommended Ghanaian players.

'As of now, I have neither spoken to Jordan nor any of his family members and this is not the first time I have recommended a Ghanaian player to a foreign club, he added.