Gyan leaves Sunderland to sign for Al-Ain

Asamoah Gyan leaves Sunderland to sign for Al-Ain



Asamoah Gyan has left Sunderland to sign for United Arab Emirates-based side Al-Ain on a permanent deal.

The striker had been on loan at Al-Ain since September 2011 and will remain after the two clubs agreed terms.

Gyan scored 11 goals in 37 appearances for the Black Cats after joining from Rennes in a club-record £13m deal in August 2010.

The fee is undisclosed but Sunderland are believed to have recouped almost all of their outlay on the striker.

Al-Ain paid £6m for Gyan's initial loan spell, and Sunderland are thought to have received a similar amount for the permanent transfer.

Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill revealed in April the 26-year-old did not want to return to Wearside.

Gyan enjoyed a successful loan period at Al-Ain, scoring 19 goals to finish top-scorer as his club won the league championship.

"You wouldn't really want somebody who is unwilling to come back to the football club," he said. "It seems to be the message that's coming across."

When Gyan left Sunderland for the UAE in September, the club's then-manager Steve Bruce claimed "parasites" turned the player's head after his goal in the 1-1 draw with England at Wembley in March 2011.

And Gyan's permanent move now leaves current manager O'Neill short on goalscoring options, with Fraizer Campbell, Ji Dong-Won and Connor Wickham his only recognised strikers in the squad.

Nicklas Bendtner has returned to Arsenal after scoring eight goals during a loan spell last season, while attacking midfielders Seb Larsson and Stephane Sessegnon chipped in with eight strikes each as the club relied on goals from other areas of the pitch.

Speaking at the end of last season, O'Neill acknowledged he needs to focus on recruiting a top striker this summer.

"Back in December, people were saying that we needed to bring in a goalscorer," he said.

"We were able to disguise that fairly well because over the next few months we were able to get goals from other positions, which was very important to us.

"We need to get some players here scoring double figures to give ourselves any chance at all. We don't have anybody in that category at the moment and that's something I will obviously be looking at."