Black Cats purr at arrival of £13m Gyan
SUNDERLAND boss Steve Bruce told of his delight last night after smashing the club’s record transfer fee to land Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan in a £13m deal.
The powerful frontman spent all day in the north-east thrashing out a deal before finally agreeing to make the switch from French club Rennes 20 minutes before the 6pm deadline.
Gyan, 24, scored three goals for Ghana in South Africa, helping his side to the quarter-finals before going out to Uruguay.
The fee, which could rise above £13m, is significantly higher than the record £10m the Black Cats paid Tottenham for Darren Bent last summer and Bruce believes his new acquisition is worth every penny.
“As anyone who has watched Ghana recently or who watched the World Cup will tell you, Asamoah is a real livewire,” he said.
“He had a fantastic tournament in the summer and a lot of European clubs sat up and took notice.
“I have been very keen to bring in another striker to add to the quality we have, but only when we felt the deal was right.
“We feel this is a great deal for the football club and Asamoah really wants to be here and in the Premier League, so I’m delighted he has joined us.”
Gyan comes in to strengthen a Sunderland strike force, which has been weakened by the £8m departure of Kenwyne Jones to Stoke and now a crippling injury to Fraizer Campbell.
Campbell ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments in the 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday and could now be out for the rest of the season.
“It’s a tragedy,” Bruce added. “He was just starting to show what he was about. But make no mistake he’ll be back and he’ll be firing again.”
Gyan’s arrival paved the way for young striker Martyn Waghorn to join Leicester City in a deal which could rise to £3m.