Ghana legend Asamoah Gyan is delighted by his debut for local side Legon Cities in the Premier League (GPL) on Friday.
For the first time since leaving Liberty Professionals for Italian Serie A club Udinese in 2003, the veteran striker took to the pitch for GPL action as The Royals and Medeama played out a 0-0 draw in a matchweek three fixture at the Accra Sports Stadium.
He came on in the 70th minute, taking the place of Raphael Ocloo.
“I am very much excited to be back home. This is where the name, Asamoah Gyan started and it feels great to play in the league again after 17-years, ” Gyan said after the game.
“I am very much satisfied with the game tonight. It’s a positive one. We need to approach the next game with this same mentality and I believe soon the wins will come.”
Gyan joined Legon in October on a short-term deal, having been inactive since leaving Indian Super League outfit NorthEast United in January.
He has had to wait until matchday three to make his debut for his new club due to a lack of match fitness.
Without their marquee signing, The Royals drew 1-1 with Berekum Chelsea on matchday one before succumbing to a 3-0 loss to Great Olympics, leading to the sacking of coach Goran Barjaktarevic.
“He [Gyan] was super," interim Legon Cities boss Wahid Mohammed said after Friday's fixture.
"You could see that all the touches he had were fantastic. He had a positive game but we should expect more from him. He will lose some few pounds.”
“He is only 30 per cent fit that’s why he started from the bench. When we get him even 50% we will win the league, trust me.”
Gyan could make his first start for Legon in their matchweek four trip to Dawu-based Dreams FC.
"Saying you can challenge for the league is very easy," Gyan said earlier this month, as reported by Footballghana.
"You can purchase all the best players in the world but without knowing what you like, we cannot be successful.
“We have to play some matches before we will know whether we can win the league or not.
"The most important thing is that management are doing their best because they’ve signed players they think can help the progress of the team."
Gyan's career has taken him to multiple Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and three World Cup tournaments with Ghana. He has also featured for the likes of Sunderland and Stade Rennais.