LONDON - Andre Ayew's blistering start to life in England has been rewarded after he scooped the Barclays Premier League player of the month prize for August.

The 25-year-old has been integral to Swansea City's strong first month to the season, scoring three goals - including away at Stamford Bridge.

That strike against Chelsea was followed up with a goal in victory over Newcastle the following week, plus the opener when Manchester United visited the Liberty Stadium.

Ayew took the award ahead of Swansea team-mate Bafetimbi Gomis as well as Manchester City pair David Silva and Aleksandar Kolarov.

Garry Monk's side occupy fourth spot in the Premier League - down in no small part to Ayew's contribution since a summer move.

He opted to leave Marseille on a free transfer after spending his whole career in Ligue 1 and had been chased by a host of top-flight sides for a number of years.

'It's a great feeling, but this award comes from hard work and support by the whole squad,' he said. 'It's more of a collective award rather than an individual award because we've worked very hard from pre-season until now.

'It shows there is a lot of quality and determination in this team. The most important thing for me is the unity and team spirit we have shown.

'The guys have really helped me by telling me how the league works and by giving me confidence to do what I can do. I can work even harder and do more.

'If we continue in the same way a lot of our players can pick up awards, but what is important is that Swansea continue to win games.'

Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini has been named the Barclays Premier League manager of the month after Manchester City's storming start to the season.

City sit on top of the division after a perfect August which yielded four straight wins. Pellegrini's side scored 10 goals in their opening four games and are yet to concede going into Saturday's clash against Crystal Palace. 

'It's very good. It means the team is doing things the way I want; I think we finished very well last season so it was important to start the way we did,' he said.

Agencies