Al Ain confident to retain sought-after Asamoah Gyan

Published on: 06 March 2012

Al Ain CEO Carlo Nohra says they are in the "driving seat" to retain the services of star striker Asamoah Gyan despite a reported bid from an unnamed Qatari club on Monday.

The Ghanaian striker, who is on loan at Al Ain from Sunderland, has netted 16 goals in all competitions and his good form has attracted plenty of interest.

The manager of Gyan's parent club Sunderland, Martin O'Neill, is understood to be keen to bring him back to England when his loan expires, while the Black Cats also revealed they'd received a bid on Monday from an unspecified Qatari club.

Sunderland also revealed last week that "another club out there in the UAE looking at his services."

However, Nohra told Sport360 on Monday that Al Ain were in a good position to secure his long-term future given they have an option in his contract to sign him permanently for an additional €3.5 million.

''Everyone is declaring their interest in Gyan, and rightly so he is performing very well and everyone should be interested,'' Nohra said. ''But we are very comfortable with our legal situation in this.

"We have a contract in place which has certain provisions for a permanent transfer so we are in no rush to make the decision now.

"We won’t be rushed into it as a knee jerk reaction to what the market may be doing. We are in the driving seat and we will remain in that position until the clauses in the deal expire.''

Nohra added: "The player himself has a role in this and so do Sunderland. The agreement that binds the three of us gives Al Ain priority, but it also gives the player the right to come out and say what he wants as well.

"We don’t have to do anything before (the end of the season) and equally nothing can happen before then."

Gyan recently admitted he was happy at Al Ain, particularly following the welcome the club's fans gave him upon his return to UAE after the 2012 African Cup of Nations where he missed a vital penalty for Ghana.

Nohra added he hoped Gyan was happy to stay with the club.

''We have had a conversation with Asamoah. He has declared he is happy at the club but more importantly his actions have spoken louder than any words," Nohra said.

"Coming back from the African Cup of Nations at his own cost and at great expense as well in time to play for the club speak volumes."

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