English side West Ham's hopes of signing target Asamoah Gyan have gone up in smoke after the Ghana captain pledged his future to Al Ain after signing a four-year contract extension with the Abu Dhabi club.
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce made enquiries to sign the former Sunderland striker during the January transfer window and – with the objective of bringing more attacking flair to Upton Park this season – had been linked with a summer swoop.
Allardyce has been given the go-ahead to land a new forward after seeing Andy Carroll ruled out with long-term injury, but there will be no east London move for Gyan after he decided to commit his future to Al Ain.
The 28-year-old joined Sunderland for £13m back in August 2010 but joined Al Ain on loan just 13 months later in a lucrative move which reportedly quadrupled his wages.
And he made the deal permanent in 2012 – although the striker, who has scored 82 goals in 66 Arabian Gulf League games, has been regularly linked with a Premier League return.
But he has now ruled that out after commiting to Al Ain until 2018.
“I am very happy to extend my contract here until 2018 and I thank the club's board, management and all the fans for their support,” he wrote on his personal website Asamoahgyan3.com.
“I have been happy here since I arrived in 2011 and I hope to help the side to keep winning.”