Asamoah Gyan keen on Asante Kotoko move, but deal has been agreed

Former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan has revealed that no deal with Ghana Premier League side Asante Kotoko has been agreed despite his desire to wear the colours of the club.

In the twilight of his career, the 34-year-old has never hidden a long ambition to represent the most successful club in the history of the domestic league before calling time on his professional career.

He has been unattached since leaving Indian Super League fold NorthEast United earlier this year, his situation fuelling rumours of a move to Kotoko ahead of the commencement of the 2020-21 Ghana football season in November.

Last month, media reports claimed the ex-Udinese man's high salary demand has proven a stumbling block to a deal thus far.

“I have said on countless occasions that I have Kotoko at heart. I have also said I will play for them before I retire from the game," Gyan told Adom TV.

"As I’m without a club, there were speculations that the deal has been finalised but as a professional football player, we don’t deal like that.

“I have made it known that I will play for them but at least we have to go through processes because I’m still a professional footballer.

"I don’t want people to downgrade the Ghanaian league. At times people even get it wrong [by their assumption] that if a player travels abroad, then he then becomes a professional footballer. But they don’t know that the Ghana league is professional.

“Kotoko should do everything professional although I have said I will play for them. I can't just stand up and say I’m going to play for the club. I’m available so when they are ready, we have to sit down and go through whatever is involved in terms of signing a contract.”

Gyan played for Liberty Professionals during his previous stint in the Ghana Premier League ahead of a move to Udinese in 2003.

“The new [Kotoko] chief executive [officer] Nana Yaw Amponsah is my friend and a partner. He is a good guy and knows everything about the game. We talk behind the scene but it’s not even about football because of our [kind of] relationship," he added

"Kotoko should just do things right, they need to do things that will suit the player and the club before the deal can go through. We don’t do a deal just like that.

"If everything goes the way I expect, I will join Kotoko. Football is my job and everything will depend on me and the club but it’s all about negotiations.

"People will say I have money, so I should play for free, but we don’t do that. If it happens that way, it means you are trying to take advantage of me, people have the impression I love the club, so I will play for free, no, I won’t do that."

Kotoko, arguably Ghana's biggest club, has won the Premier League on 23 occasions.