Source: Northern_Echo
Sunderland complete record move for Gyan
ASAMOAH Gyan last night expressed his relief at the completion of the club-record move that took him to Sunderland.[LNB] Gyan's transfer from Rennes was confirmed just 15 minutes before the transfer window closed, with the striker signing a four-year contract to complete a deal that is worth more than £13m.[LNB] After a day of hectic negotiations, that saw Gyan hastily agree personal terms and complete a medical at the Stadium of Light, the Ghana international displaced Darren Bent as Sunderland's all-time record signing.[LNB] With a long-standing interest in Charles N'Zogbia having cooled over the weekend, Gyan was the only player joining the Black Cats on deadline day.[LNB] Fellow striker Martyn Waghorn left the club to join Championship side Leicester City in a permanent deal that could eventually be worth £3m.[LNB] Midfielder Teemu Tainio also ended his association with Sunderland after his contract was cancelled, enabling him to join Dutch giants Ajax.[LNB] The headlines, however, belonged to Gyan, and after a summer that saw him bolster his reputation by scoring three of Ghana's four goals at the World Cup finals, the 24- year-old was relieved to have completed his move to Wearside in time.[LNB] It's been a long day, but finally I'm happy to be here and my family and friends are also happy for me, said Gyan, who spent five seasons with Udinese before joining Rennes in 2008.[LNB] My family are in England already and I am happy this is the right place for me. The Sunderland coach has faith in me because he has been following me for two years now.[LNB] I am pleased I have the opportunity to come to England.[LNB] Gyan's transfer fee is almost identical to the sum Sunderland raised from the sale of Kenwyne Jones and Lorik Cana earlier this summer.[LNB] The deal was effectively agreed on Saturday evening, but a number of financial issues still had to be ironed out yesterday before it could be formally confirmed.[LNB] With Fraizer Campbell set to miss the majority of the season with a knee ligament injury, Steve Bruce was desperate to add Gyan to his squad, having watched him on a number of occasions before he impressed in South Africa this summer.[LNB] The Ghanaian will leave England later today to link up with his national squad ahead of an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Swaziland, but will be available to make his Black Cats debut in the away game at Wigan on September 11.[LNB] A lot of people worked extremely hard and thankfully we've got him, said Bruce, who confirmed Campbell has suffered the same injury sustained by David Meyler at the end of last season.[LNB] It's a hell of a lot of money, we all know that in today's climate.[LNB] But fair play to the owner, he understood the necessity of it and it's a fantastic signing for us.[LNB] It's just at the right time.[LNB] We had a good result at the weekend and we've managed to bring in another top-class striker.[LNB] It's amazing that it's come down to the last day that we've pulled off the clubrecord signing.[LNB] We've had to be patient I didn't think it was going to be possible two weeks ago but we've got it through. It's a great piece of business for us and we're all delighted.[LNB] I love his enthusiasm. He has a huge appetite for the game, works extremely hard and will give us something different which we haven't got.[LNB] He leads the line, he's a traditional number nine and we'll benefit from that.[LNB] While Gyan completed his move yesterday, Waghorn was busy putting the finishing touches to his departure to Leicester.[LNB] The youngster spent most of last season on loan at the Walkers Stadium, but Bruce had earlier claimed he would not be allowing him to leave again.[LNB] However, the arrival of both Gyan and Danny Welbeck, who has signed a season-long loan from Manchester United, persuaded the Sunderland boss to alter his stance.[LNB] Waghorn made a total of eight senior appearances for the Black Cats, and has joined Leicester in a deal that could be worth up to £3m if he achieves a number of performance- related targets.[LNB] Waghorn's departure helped replenish the Stadium of Light coffers, but Sunderland officials chose not to make a renewed attempt to sign N'Zogbia after their approaches over the weekend proved unsuccessful.[LNB] Wigan chairman Dave Whelan consistently refused to reduce his £9m asking price for the former Newcastle midfielder, and the Black Cats' valuation was always well below that price.[LNB] N'Zogbia was linked with both Stoke City and Everton yesterday, but the transfer window closed with him remaining at the DW Stadium.[LNB]
