Aston Villa announces signing of Jordan Ayew from Lorient

The void left by Christian Benteke has been filled.

Aston Villa announced the signing of Jordan Ayew from Lorient on Monday, as the 23-year-old forward put pen to paper on a five-year deal after completing his medical at Bodymoor Heath.

It was reported Friday that Villa had its £12-million bid accepted by Lorient for Ayew, whose arrival at Villa Park follows those of fellow Ligue 1 players Jordan Amavi (OGC Nice) and Idrissa Gueye (Lille OSC).

Ayew, who notched 12 goals and five assists through 31 Ligue 1 appearances last season, numbers that will be welcomed following Benteke's departure to Liverpool.

"I'm really pleased to bring Jordan to the football club," manager Tim Sherwood said. "He is a fantastic young player who is perfectly suited to the Premier League."

Before joining Villa, Ayew had accused Lorient of pricing him out of a transfer by making some last-minute demands.

"They said I could go for €10 million or €12 million, but now they want £10 million with £2 million in add-ons, which makes it about €17 million," Ayew told L'Equipe, according to the Guardian. "It's nonsense! I'm really annoyed, it's amazing what they are doing to me. They pointed out how many millions Villa paid for Amavi but I'm not Amavi. We're two different players."