Sunderland choose Ghana’s Gyan as strike partner for Bent
Published:Sunderland have moved quickly to replace the recently departed Kenwyne Jones by purchasing Ghanaian World Cup star Asamoah Gyan from Rennes.
Gyan scored three goals in South Africa as Ghana reached the quarter finals and Bruce has had an offer in excess of £13m accepted, following Jones’ recent departure to Stoke.
The 24-year-old flew into Sunderland for talks and signed a four-year deal to better the club’s previous transfer record when they paid Tottenham £10m for Darren Bent in 2009.
Bruce said: “Asamoah is a real livewire. He had a fantastic tournament in the summer and a lot of European clubs sat up and took notice.
“I’ve been very keen to bring in another striker to add to the quality we have. We feel this is a great deal for the football club and Asamoah really wants to be here.”
Gyan could also play a leading role in helping Darren Bent score the goals to guarantee Sunderland their survival in the Premier League.
The Black Cats are currently 9/1 to be relegated to the Championship, but a really good season could see them challenging for a top-four finish and a spot in the Champions League.
They are 50/1 to be in the top four at the end of the campaign, with Bent 12/1 to score enough goals to be the Premier League’s top scorer.
Sunderland picked up their first win of the season when beating Manchester City 1-0, with Bent grabbing the only goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Blackpool are the heavy 2/9 favourites to be playing Championship football next season, see the whole Premier League relegation market.
