When it comes to passing on his experience, Jordan Ayew has plenty to share – and not all good. But the bad has him even more determined to enjoy life at Sheffield United.

The 35-year-old striker began his professional career in the demanding surroundings of Marseille, and has been in English football since 2015. He is a national icon in Ghana – the only team to keep a clean sheet against England at the last World Cup.

His dad, Abide Pele, is too, like his brother Andre, though no Ghanaian has more caps than his 124 and counting.

He has won Ligue 1 and two Coupe de la Ligues, as well as playing in the 2015 African Cup of Nations final.

But he was also part of the Leicester City squad relegated from Premier League to League One in consecutive seasons before moving to Bramall Lane in the summer.

Enduring that might have persuaded some to hang up their boots when the Foxes did not renew his contract, especially when no one came in for him during the transfer window.

But Ayew says the experience has only made him hungrier to be a success at Sheffield United, and to help others to be too.

Given the rivalry whipped up between the Blades and Wrexham in recent years – largely out of an acrimonious 2022-23 FA Cup tie and the disrespect the Yorkshire club felt they were shown around it – a televised Friday night home game under the lights ought to justify his decision on its own.

ROLE MODEL: Sheffield United forward Jordan Ayew (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

placeholder image — ROLE MODEL: Sheffield United forward Jordan Ayew (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

"Leicester was a strange one, let me put it that way, but I always had the same mentality," says Ayew, who also played for Sochaux, Lorient, Aston Villa, Swansea City and Crystal Palace.

"I always conducted myself really well. I always came in wanting to improve, to help the squad get points and to get to our targets, but it feels like it was just not meant to be.

"The only thing is to bounce back and to show that was a mistake, that was an accident, and to show the best version of yourself.

"At Leicester sometimes we were playing really well and we would have five minutes where we were not great and the other team would score two or three goals. What can you do?

ADMIRER: Chris Wilder was delighted to sign Jordan Ayew (Image: Simon Bellis / Sportimage)

"When you look at most of our games, we always scored first, and after that the team would score. We would lose the game 2-1, 3-1.

"It was a difficult year for everyone, mentally, in terms of performances, because everything is in your head.

"You start to lose games, you start to lose performances, then you start to lose everything – confidence in your team-mates.

"It was a strange one, but it was a good experience for me. I learnt a lot about myself and about the character that I had.

LEARNING: Sheffield United striker Ryan One (right) (Image: Simon Bellis / Sportimage)

"It made me become a better person and a better footballer, in my opinion.

"I think now I enjoy wins much more. I enjoy success much more.

"It was a difficult year, but I learnt a lot. I made good friends in Leicester as well.

"Sometimes it's just not meant to be."

Sheffield United feels like it was to a player conscious of God's guiding hand.

"The club, the manager, everyone welcomed me very well, so the only thing I can do is to pay them back on the pitch and do my best for the club," he says.

NATIONAL ICON: Jordan Ayew (right) playing for Ghana at the Qatar Word Cup with brother Andre (right) (Image: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

"Coming here was the best option for me.

"The manager was superb, I spoke to him, it didn't even take ten minutes. It was really quick, honest, and we had a good feeling, both of us, and we connected quickly."

Ayew's job is two-fold. Firstly, he is here to score and make goals – something he is yet to do in red-and-white.

But he is also here to help the next generation and when it comes to Blades strikers, the most exciting is Ryan One.

The powerful forward has been ruled out for "a number of weeks" with a recurrence of the hamstring injury that has stunted him since returning from last season's successful loan at League One champions Lincoln City.

"He'll be involved with the first team, he'll be in team meetings, he's part of it," says his manager Chris Wilder.

"There's little opportunities that he'll be able to work on as well physically.

"Unfortunately on the scan it (the injury) is the same position so we might have to over-treat him."

He will also be able to learn from Patrick Bamford, set to play on Friday despite his shoulder injury at home to Derby County, and Ayew.

"A fabulous character, great experience, CV," is how Wilder describes the latter. "The boy's played over 500 games at the highest level, over 100 times for his country and it's not a Mickey Mouse country, it's a big, powerful country football-wise in Africa.

"He's an example the way he conducts himself off the pitch, the way he trains as if it's his last training session.

"He's been good for us and I'm delighted off the pitch that he can contribute with talking and his example and on the pitch with his performances."

As the quietly-spoken Ayew explains: "I'm not someone who communicates a lot, but I just try to say things at the right time and when it's needed.

"I'm here to help, I'm not here to try and be the star man."

That extends to his attitude to getting a first goal for the Blades.

"I'm a big believer in the team, and the most important thing for me is we get the three points," he says. "My time will come because I have the right mentality, I'm doing the right things.

"But the most important thing for me is to get the three points and for everyone to be happy because I think we deserve to go on a good run."