Chinese giants Shanghai Shenhua have made an extraordinary counter bid to sign Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan from the noses of crosstown rivals Shanghai SIPG, GHANAsoccernet.com can exclusively reveal.
The Black Stars captain was made aware of the new offer before leaving Accra on Monday evening for Dubai to hold showdown talks with Al Ain.
Gyan is still likely to sign for Shanghai SIPG but Al Ain appear more inclined to sell their priced asset to Shanghai Shenhua due to their improved offer on the EUR20m believed to have been made by Shanghai SIPG.
The Ghana striker will get the all-clear to travel to Shanghai later today to hold a medical at either Shenhua or SIPG.
Shanghai SIPG however remain in the lead after reaching a principled agreement with Al Ain but the emergence of Shenhua has brought a new twist to the dramatic move of the Ghana striker.
Both clubs are offering in excess of $300,000 in weekly wages to the Ghanaian but Shenhua are banking on their enhanced offer and global appeal to snatch the Ghanaian from the noses of their ambitious cross-town rivals.
Representatives of Shanghai SIPGled by agent Johan Eriksson and Claudio Vagheggi have however arrived in Dubai for a scheduled tripartite meeting involving Asamoah Gyan and Al Ain officials later today.
They intend to move very quickly to secure the Ghana striker after receiving word of Shenhua's decision to also pursue the former Sunderland striker.