Al Ain to cash in on enormous Shanghai SIPG bid for Gyan

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  • Outward bound: Gyan.

    Al Ain have cashed in on superstar striker Asamoah Gyan after they reluctantly accepted a lucrative “double the money” bid from Chinese Super League title-chasers Shanghai SIPG.

    Gyan, 29, was the subject of an offer worth approximately €20 million (Dh81.3m) last week from Sven-Goran Eriksson’s ambitious side. They believe the Ghana skipper will prove the difference in the months ahead as they attempt to move up from second and claim their debut top-flight crown.

    The Boss are set to reap a significant profit on the investment made bringing him to the Garden City, a £6m (Dh34.4m) loan fee being paid to Premier League outfit Sunderland in September 2011 with another £4m (Dh22.9m) following in July 2012 to make it permanent.

    Gyan has been given permission to travel east in the coming days from his vacation in Ghana to complete the formalities on the biggest deal in UAE history.

    “Something is happening,” a senior Al Ain official told Sport 360 on Monday night. “Very soon, everything will become clear about the situation.

    “When you’ve received double the money you’ve paid for Gyan, you have to let him go.”

    Gyan signed a contract extension until 2018 only last summer, but with his advancing age and an injury-plagued 2014/15 season taken into consideration a pragmatic decision has been reached by the Arabian Gulf League champions’ board.

    Gyan has proven a phenomenal success with the Boss. He has helped fire them to three league titles, the 2014 President’s Cup and the 2012 Arabian Gulf Super Cup.

    He will depart the UAE with three top-scorer awards and a phenomenal 95 goals in 83 AGL appearances. He was also the leading marksman in the 2014 AFC Champions League with 12, as Al Ain made the semi-finals for the first time in nine years.

    But last term was his least productive in a purple shirt, a lingering quadriceps problem continually flaring up. He started just 12 top-flight games, scoring 13 times. 

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