Bruce waits on Gyan
Steve Bruce says even HE does not know yet whether record signing Asamoah Gyan will be handed his Sunderland debut at Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
The Black Cats' boss got his top summer target last week in a record-breaking deal on transfer deadline day – Gyan joining from Rennes for 13million – and has admitted to the Echo that he is genuinely excited about the potential partnership between the Ghanaian star and England's Darren Bent.
Fans, too, can't wait to get their first sight of the striker nicknamed Baby Jet in his home country.
But whether or not that partnership is given an immediate chance to pay dividends at the DW Stadium remains to be seen
Bruce explained: "I've really got to wait for Asamoah to get back from international duty to see how he is and before I make any decision.
"So, in all honesty, even I'm not sure whether or not he'll play this weekend or how much involvement he might have.
"It's a long trip from Ghana and I will check on his condition when he walks through the door.
"If he is OK, there's every chance he will be involved at some stage at Wigan, but we've been looking at setting up more defensively away from home, so we have options regardless.
"We played more of a 4-5-1 formation against Manchester City and it worked for us, so we've got some thinking to do before the Wigan game.
"But Asamoah will definitely come into the mix, especially if he looks fresh enough when he gets here and long-term I think he could be the perfect foil for Darren Bent.
"You can never second-guess anything in football, but the ingredients are there for them to bounce off each other really well."
Gyan's arrival has come in the nick of time, with Fraizer Campbell suffering knee ligament damage in the win over City.
The Ghanaian will return to Sunderland this evening for the first time since agreeing his move to Sunderland – he has has been away on international duty and before that was sorting out his visa situation in France.
It means the 24-year-old – due to meet the Press at the Academy of Light tomorrow morning – is likely to have one, maybe two training sessions at best with his new team-mates.
Bruce says Gyan can expect to be thrown into the fray at the earliest appropriate opportunity.
"In the Premier League, you're only as good as your strikers," said the Sunderland manager.
"We've brought in more strength in depth throughout the team – the players I brought in earlier in the summer have given us added depth in defence and midfield.
"And now we've got another top striker in Gyan, just in case – and let's hope it doesn't happen – anything happened to Benty."
Gyan succeeds 10m Bent as Sunderland's record signing and he will be hoping to make the same kind of instant impact that the former Spurs man made when he joined the Black Cats.
Bent scored on his debut at Bolton, netted eight goals in his first nine games and went on to finish as the club's top scorer with 25 – as well as coming third in the Premier League goalscorers chart with 24.
Bruce said: "I sincerely hope Asamoah he hits the ground running, but we just have to wait and see.
"African players have an attitude and mentality that seems to suit the Premier League – in general they seem to adapt to it well, because they can handle the physical side of the game.
"Gyan certainly fits that category.
"He's a larger than life character and he also speaks the language perfectly, which is a big help and of course he has his Ghana team-mate John Mensah here to help him get used to living in England.
"So, there's no reason why he can't slot in straight away and if that proves the case, it will be great for the club and the supporters."
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Weather for Sunderland
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
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