Dubai: Ghana and Al Ain striker Asamoah Gyan deserves a return to Europe based on his Fifa World Cup form, according to former Netherlands and Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Gyan equalled Roger Milla’s record of five goals to become the joint-highest scoring African in World Cup history when he netted the second in a 2-2 draw with Germany in Saturday’s second pool match in Group G.
Van Nistelrooy, who is a pundit on ESPN, questioned why Gyan, 28, was still playing in the UAE when he clearly still has the ability to play in Europe.
“Why is Gyan playing in the UAE?” he said. “I don’t know what he is doing there. He should be playing with a top side in Europe. He had a tremendous game [against Germany].”
Gyan, formerly of Italy’s Udinese and France’s Rennes, joined England’s Sunderland in 2010 for a record £13 million, but joined Al Ain a year later in a £6 million loan move, which was later made permanent.
In three seasons at Al Ain, Gyan has won three consecutive Arabian Gulf League Golden Boots with 82 goals in a total of 66 league appearances for the club. He is the top scorer in the current AFC Asian Champions League campaign with 10 goals.
He is also the first African to score in three consecutive World Cup finals and holds Ghana’s all-time goal scoring record with 41 goals in 80 games.
