Swansea departure could suit Andre Ayew and Francesco Guidolin

Last January's rumours that Sunderland were ready to offer Swansea £12 million for Andre Ayew seemed far-fetched at the time.

Both clubs were fighting to avoid relegation and there seemed little sense in Swansea strengthening a relegation rival's cause by giving up one of their best players.

Of course, an argument could be made that Swansea did precisely that in the same window by selling Jonjo Shelvey to Newcastle for the same amount of money.

That Newcastle were eventually relegated and Shelvey routinely benched by Rafa Bentiez once the Spaniard replaced Steve McLaren suggests that if anything, that deal might even count as a cunning act of sabotage from the Welsh club.

Yet now, with 2015-16 over and with Ayew finishing as Swansea's leading scorer and Sunderland barely avoiding relegation, the rumours have resurfaced.

The obvious question remains -- why on earth would an elite player who wants Champions League football and has the ability to command it want to move to a side that has not finished in the top half of the table for six years? Regardless of the answer, another question is of more interest -- with Ayew likely to receive more attractive offers, should Swansea sell?

On the surface, the resounding answer is no. Ayew was top scorer in a side that struggled to score goals, with Swansea averaging only 1.1 per game all season.

However, the Ghanaian only narrowly edged Gylfi Sigurdsson in the scoring stakes (Sigurdsson ended with 11 goals to Ayew's 12), and was aided by the prolific Icelander's absence over Swansea's final three games, during which Ayew scored three times.

The fact Swansea's two top scorers were both midfielders underlines that the lack of a prolific striker is the real reason for their poor goal return. Assuming Swansea can find a striker that can better Bafetimbi Gomis' six league goals, there might be some sense in selling.

Ayew has yet to find his best position at Swansea and is the kind of player picked because he is clearly among the most gifted available and not because he's a particularly good fit for the system.

Coach Francesco Guidolin believes Ayew can make a home for himself as a striker but that switch runs the risk of diminishing some of the player's strengths.

He is an excellent dribbler, proven by finishing the season as the Premier League's second most fouled player. He is a good passer, finishing the season with 82 percent passing completion with a remit to attempt riskier balls. He loves to drop deep to get involved in the play and is a decent tackler, too.

To play Ayew as a No.9 would limit his ability to play to these strengths, prioritising his finishing and heading ability ahead of those other valuable skills.

The fact Guidolin is considering retraining the player into an unfamiliar role only demonstrates the difficulties the manager has had finding Ayew's ideal position.

Although the move paid off in the campaign's penultimate game, a 4-1 win at West Ham, it was less successful in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the final match, where the Ghanaian kept dropping deep and Swansea had no other outlet further forward.

Should Swansea sell, the transfer fee could be counted as pure profit since the player signed as a free agent. There is no guarantee that he will improve on this season's numbers in the next campaign and his stock is high enough to justify exploring a few options in the market.

And as an aside and given the benefit of hindsight, would Swansea have been better off selling Michu to Arsenal for the £20 million that was rumoured to be offered at the end of the Spaniard´s one great season in Swansea?

Ayew is the kind of player a side like Swansea should be looking to keep, but if he has Champions League football on his mind, cashing in might not be a bad idea.

He should command a good price, certainly more than the reported £15m, and since he has yet to become the kind of central figure that Sigurdsson is, despite scoring all those goals, his loss could be covered with positional specialists who might even be a better -- or at least more obvious -- fit for the system.