Bruce: I thought I would miss out on strike ace
STEVE Bruce says he always had Asamoah Gyan in mind to partner Darren Bent this season – but feared he would miss out on his top target when Turkish side Fenerbahce came in with a huge offer.
The Champions League side were preparing a massive offer, which would have dwarfed Sunderland's 13m bid, but their surprise exit from Europe's elite competition in the qualifying stages forced a rethink and the Black Cats were able to push home their interest.
Bruce told the Gazette: "It was a bit nervy for a while there because the Fenerbache interest came out of the blue and would have been a real problem for us.
"Even when that did not come off, we still had to ask the owner to break the transfer record to get the lad, and I've got to pay full credit to him for that because we weren't in an ideal negotiating position.
"Normally we can wheel and deal a bit, but that wasn't really an option for us this time – we had a week until the window closed and Fraizer Campbell had just been badly injured and sidelined for six months.
"Rennes knew that, and so it really did become a seller's market after that.
"But whatever the price tag, I'm absolutely delighted to have got him because he was the lad I was after all along."
Bruce and his assistant Eric Black have been keeping track of the 24-year-old for the past three years and had previously looked at signing him last year.
Now the manager has got his man, and Bruce feels happy that he has brought in a player who he has been convinced for some time can bring a whole new dimension to Sunderland's attack.
"He was definitely our top target," he said.
"And what I'm pleased about is that we've brought in someone we wanted all along, rather than bringing in a body for a body's sake.
"I wanted to make an improvement and now, with the two strikers we have and the wheeling and dealing we have done, we are in a better position.
"Gyan has that fire in his belly, he's a wonderful athlete and he's got a great attitude.
"I think he'll do well here at Sunderland, and I'm looking forward to him fitting into the side and improving it."
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