So now we know that Asamoah Gyan is staying at Sunderland, at least in the short term. The reason why Harry Redknapp and the £13 million forward's other admirers can shelve any immediate plans to add the 25-year-old to their squad in time for the new season? Simple. It comes in the form of a humble press release circulated by the club. Not one insisting their record signing isn't for sale, anything but. In fact, it's on a totally different subject entirely, but one which underlines Gyan importance to them, and suggests that he will be around for a little time to come yet. This press release - we've taken the grammatical errors out of it for you so it actually makes sense - states: "Sunderland AFC today signed a partnership agreement with top Ghanaian club Asante Kotoko FC." It added: "As the biggest club in Ghana, Kotoko has an astonishing eight million followers and on a recent visit to Sunderland the respective chairmen enjoyed positive discussions on how both clubs could work together in the future. TweeterFacebookFourSquareiPhone "The new partnership will see Sunderland share its coaching and business expertise with the Ghanaian club, offering practical support and advice in youth coaching, player development, fitness and medical matters and football business strategy. "Kotoko in turn will work closely with Sunderland to help the club build and grow its brand in the emerging African territory." In short, this is the kind of partnership which the Wearside club could not and surely would not have entered into had they planned to cash-in on the interest in Gyan, who has added to the speculation over his future by issuing, in conjunction with his agent, some rather mixed messages over the summer. The role Gyan's presence at the club plays in underpinning what could be a lucrative arrangement for the Black Cats can't at all be overstated. Without Ghana's most high-profile footballer on their books, it's pretty-much a non-starter, especially with the departure at the end of last season of his international team-mates John Mensah and Sulley Muntari significantly lessening the club's links with the Black Stars. For Sunderland to reap any kind of reward for this arrangement, Gyan has to be around for the foreseeable future, to act as the figurehead and focal point for Ghanaian fans to adopt Steve Bruce's side, rather than one of the big four, as their Premier League team. That's why he won't be sold, unless a particularly ridiculous offer is made - although it will have to be a bid of the eye-watering variety, given the millions of pounds this link-up could potentially be worth. For his part, Gyan, currently with Bruce's squad on a pre-season trip to Germany, has put his burgeoning music career on hold in a bid to improve on a decent but by no means impressive 11-goal haul in his first English campaign. The forward, who has scored 26 goals in 48 appearances for his country, including a stand-out World Cup finals in 2010, has already enjoyed a couple of hits in Africa in collaboration with his friend, the musician Castro. For the time being at least, that will be the extent of their chart success, after Gyan came under criticism from former Ghana internationals Tony Yeboah, the ex-Leeds forward, and Felix Aboagye for neglecting his football. Gyan said: "My two songs that have been top of the charts are okay for now. I have to concentrate on my football career," that's very good of you, Asamoah, thanks. We're sure Sunderland supporters will be most thankful you're happy to concentrate on your £50,000-a-week day job. He added: "I've heard people saying 'he should concentrate on his football career'. But I am a very determined person with my job. Off the field I joke a lot but when it gets to work time I am fully concentrated."
