Former Al Ain striker Asamoah Gyan has made a shock return to the Arabian Gulf League, with current champions Al Ahli.
The Ghana captain, who joined China’s Shanghai SIPG from Al Ain last summer, replaces Moussa Sow, with UAE football’s record buy having agreeing a one-year loan deal with former club Fenerbahce before the close of last night’s European transfer deadline.
Gyan’s move to Ahli, also a one-year loan and confirmed once he passed a medical last night, comes as a surprise given his previous connection to rivals Al Ain. In four years with the Garden City side, he scored 128 goals in 123 matches to secure a host of major honours. Naijabet.com
His 95 goals in 83 league matches from 2011-15 helped Al Ain clinch three top-flight titles. Gyan won three Golden Boot awards and scored the winner in the 2014 President’s Cup final against Ahli.
In 2014, Gyan was the Asian Champions League’s top scorer with 12 goals. He is also Ghana’s record goalscorer, with 48.
Whether Gyan, 30, can recapture that form at Ahli remains to be seen. In his final season with Al Ain, injury restricted his output, although he still managed to score 13 goals in 17 league appearances.
He struggled at Shanghai despite being one of the club’s highest earners, finding the net seven times in 15 appearances. Again, he was affected by injury.
