West Ham end interest in Asamoah Gyan, set to sign Ivorian striker

Published on: 05 January 2014
West Ham end interest in Asamoah Gyan, set to sign Ivorian striker
Lacina Traore on his way to West Ham

By Ameenu Shardow, follow on Twitter @alooameenu

West Ham are on the verge of securing the services of striker Lacina Traore – meaning their interest in Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan will no longer exist.

The West London club are desperate for reinforcements especially in attack in the January transfer window to boost their bid for Premier League survival.

West Ham have been without lead man Andy Carroll for most parts of the season even though he has started training.

But boss Sam Allardyce is determined to get some cover for the injury-prone English striker which led to interest in Black Stars striker Asamoah Gyan.

The Hammers are however unlikely to secure the Ghanaian who has been in superlative form for UAE club Al Ain since moving from Sunderland in 2011.

West Ham have now turned their sights on Ivorian hitman Lacina Traore who has just completed a reported £8.3m move to Monaco from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.

Monaco have agreed to loan out the 23-year-old to the English club until the end of the season.

But Traore’s move is subject to him passing a medical and securing a work permit with a scheduled hearing later on in the week.

This means West Ham will no longer be pursuing Asamoah Gyan who scored his 16th goal of the season on Saturday.

The Black Stars captain has finished the last two seasons as the top scorer in the UAE top flight.

Many believed a move back to England will be just what Gyan needed to get himself in greater shape ahead of June’s World Cup.

But Al Ain have declared their unpreparedness to let their leading striker go despite their inconsistent form this term.

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