Reading didn’t sign Gyan because ‘he wasn’t in very good shape’, the club’s coach Jaap Stam has revealed.

The English club passed up the chance to sign the Ghana captain after he failed to pass their medical but Gyan has moved on since and signed for Al Ahli in the UAE and scored a debut goal for the club against his former side Al Ain on Wednesday.

But Reading say they passed up the chance to sign him bbecause he represented too much of a risk given the period he needed to be fully fit and the fact he had to be away at some point for the Nations Cup.

Stam said: “He wasn’t in very good shape. When he joined us they did a very good medical on him which was very important because he’s been injured in the past. He hasn’t been playing a lot of games.

“You need to be sure, if you bring a player in, that he’s fit and not that you need to work him for six to eight weeks to get him in shape. And maybe there’s a risk of him getting injured during that period so he’s out for a longer time.

“And then he needs to go to Ghana in January and we lose him for two months. So it’s a big risk.
“He wasn’t in good shape, that was the case. Of course the player says he was in good shape because he wants to play, but he wasn’t. Our medical people are not going to be lying about that. That’s why we made the decision not to sign him.

The Ducthman says Gyan was not arriving at the club at great cost but they just weren’t convinced about his fitness.

“To be honest he wasn’t that expensive and you have to think why can he leave his club? Is there a reason he can leave that club if he’s that fit?

“So you have to think about that as well. But we’re always looking for quality strikers.
“He did well here in the UK, he did well in Saudi Arabia, in China and with the national team. If you see him play you can see he’s a quality striker.

“But we have to be sure because we don’t have much money to spend on players or wages.
“If we’re going to be spending money then we need to be sure it’s on a player who is fit and ready to produce for us.

By: TV3 Sports Desk
Twitter: @3newsgh