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Garry Monk has revealed the details of his first meetings with African ace Andre Ayew that convinced him he was perfect for Swansea City success – and helped seal one of the best bits of Premier League business this season.

And the Swans boss says the unlikely link-up works because the high-profile signing was NOT lured to the Liberty Stadium by money.

Ayew has made a dream start to life in the Premier League with two goals in his first two appearances, underlining the size of the coup landed by Swansea in seeing off a string of European giants to capture the Ghana World Cup star.

Ayew’s father, the African and Maseille great Abedi Pele, who doubles as one of his son’s representatives, has recently claimed he turned down interest from Roma and Atletico Madrid to head to South Wales to join Monk’s ranks.

More: Meet the Sunderland defender who Garry Neville thinks could struggle against Ayew

His quickfire start to British football has led to criticism of clubs who were beaten to the punch by Swansea, with Jack Sullivan – son of West Ham owner David Sullivan – using Twitter to claim the Hammers’ offer of £90,0000-a-week wages were trumped by a supposed £120,000 on offer at the Liberty.

While Swansea are thought to have made Ayew one of their highest earners, paying a substantial signing-on fee across the life of the four-year deal he signed in July, it is nowhere near those kind of figures which fly in the face of the way the Swans board operate.

And Monk has instead given an insight into just how Swansea were able to convince Ayew to snub bigger wages on offer elsewhere with the Swans chief admitting the player’s refreshing reaction to Liberty plans is a major factor behind his eye-catching start.

More:We don't give Garry Monk enough hype!

“It was refreshing when I spoke to him to hear his views on the game because he was very much football-orientated – he’s not into the glitz and the glamour and the money side of it,” said Monk of the 25-year-old. “You don’t get a lot of that now when you pick up a paper. It’s normally all about the money.

“The Premier League was obviously a big attraction and, when I spoke to him, he liked the way I was approaching things and he wanted to be part of things.

“It was refreshing because there were a lot of big teams around Europe who were offering him a lot more than we were – but it was never about money for him.

“He liked our approach – how we were doing things and moving forward. He felt this was the right club at this stage of his career.”

So far Ayew has been proven right, with his position in the Swansea set-up perfectly illustrating the different aspects of his game that make him such a talent and a sought-after star.

His performances suggest he has already bought into the team ethos at the Liberty, encouraging teammates and bringing the best out of others around him, while also showing his individual class with his brilliantly-taken goal against Chelsea and well-timed run and header against Newcastle.

And Monk believes it’s his background and upbringing under the iconic Abedi Pele that has given him the grounding to be a real success in South Wales.

Monk said: “I knew the player he was and what he could contribute. I thought he would be perfect for the group, because he’s a leader as well. He talks to all the players and he’s very experienced.

“We try and check all the characters we bring into the club – their personality, their home life and everything. The key for me is when I speak to the player. I think I’ve always been quite a good judge of character. It’s the feeling you get when you speak to someone – whether they are genuine or not, do they actually know what they are talking about, or is it sugar-coated to pull the wool over your eyes?

“There was a good feeling with Andre and he’s proven that in the way he is with the group. I think he gets that grounding from his family. You could tell that from the way he spoke. I hadn’t heard that for a long time. When I brought him in I knew he would be the right character and now he’s hopefully able to produce his best football. He’s had a good start.

“Even though he’s still young, he’s a very experienced international and he passes that knowledge onto the group, which is great. All in all, he’s played an important part in our pre-season and I’m sure he will throughout the season.”