Asamoah Gyan will sign a three-year contract at United Arab Emirates side Al Ain this week after agreeing to leave Sunderland.
The 26-year-old Ghanaian spent last season on loan in the Middle East after arriving on Wearside in 2010. And Al Ain chief executive officer Carlo Nohra admitted Gyan is expected back in Dubai this week to put the seal on a deal worth around £150,000 a week.
“The player has informed us of his intention to stay with the club, which allowed us to invoke the agreement with Sunderland for a permanent transfer,” Nohra told Goal.com.
“We’ve worked through all the details and things have progressed to the point where we now need to have some ink on paper.
"He’s on holiday at the moment but we have a three-way agreement signed off with him and Sunderland before we depart for pre-season training in Austria at the weekend.”
Gyan joined Sunderland for £13 million after starring at the 2010 World Cup and scored 11 goals during his debut season in the Premier League.
But he was allowed to join Al Ain last year after they agreed to pay a £6m loan fee and went on to score 22 goals as they won the UAE title.
“He contributed greatly to the success that we had last season and conducted himself very well, which is important in this part of the world,” added Nohra.
“We’ve had some high-profile players coming to these shores and they have all helped a little but now we hope this trend will continue. The standard of football here is not the best but it is certainly improving.”**