The press have linked West Ham United with a move for Ghanian striker, Asamoah Gyan. Gyan is currently playing for Al Ain in the UAE, where he has been extremely prolific, and he is also remembered for some outstanding performances forGhana in the 2010 World Cup.
Gyan has previous Premier League experience, after signing for Sunderland in the summer of 2010 – a player who was also strongly linked with West Ham that summer too. Gyan signed for around £13m, and actually marked his first start for the club, with the winner against West Ham in the League Cup.
Gyan appears to be a player who has scored goals at every club he has signed for. Udinese, Modena, Rennes, Sunderlandand now Al Ain. In fact, his stats show that he has reached double figures every season. He has scored 64 goals in 49 appearances in the UAE league, and has 39 goals in 76 caps for Ghana. His time at Sunderland only lasted one season, and it is concerning why his career in England did not last very long. Did he not settle into the lifestyle? Was he unhappy at the club? Did he not get on with the management team? Who knows – nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors.
Gyan is a strong forward, but is not sort of player who Allardyce likes – in the sense he is under 6ft tall. However, he is quick, makes intelligent runs off the ball, and is a handful for any defence when on top of his game.
Is Gyan enough to improve the squad? Maybe – but I think we need another striker to make sure that we have enough goals in the team to fire us to safety, and a much improved second half of the season.