O’Neill looks to life after Gyan

Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill has hinted that record signing Asamoah Gyan is unlikely to return to the club.

The £13m (€15m) Ghana international striker is currently with United Emirates side Al-Ain on a season-long loan after securing a shock move away from the Stadium of Light in September.

That agreement was made three months before O’Neill succeeded Steve Bruce, the man who had signed the 26-year-old Gyan from French side Rennes barely 12 months earlier, and although there was talk of a return to Wearside in January, the lucrative agreement between the two clubs did not allow for that.