Aston Villa sign striker Jordan Ayew for £8.5 million

Aston Villa have signed Ghanaian striker Jordan Ayew for an undisclosed fee believed to be £8.5 million.

The 23-year-old has penned a five-year contract at Villa Park after leaving Ligue 1 club Lorient.

Manager Tim Sherwood told avfc.co.uk: "I'm really pleased to bring Jordan to the football club.

"He is a fantastic young player who is perfectly suited to the Premier League."

Ayew is the third player to swap France for Witton this summer with former Nice left-back Jordan Amavi and ex-Lille midfielder Idrissa Gueye already enlisted.

Marseille-born forward Ayew – the brother of Swansea winger Andre – scored 12 goals in 26 league appearances for Lorient last season and has earned 28 caps for Ghana.

He passed a medical at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training base on Monday morning before joining up with his new team-mates.

The Villans are working hard to fill the gap left by Belgian striker Christian Benteke, who moved to Liverpool for £32.5million last week after scoring 49 goals for the West Midlands outfit.

In defense, Villa have recruited Micah Richards from Manchester City have also agreed a deal to sign 28-year-old full-back Jose Angel Crespo from Cordoba, according to the Spanish club.