ISL 2019-20: Former Premier League striker Asamoah Gyan joins NorthEast United FC

Ghana star Asamoah Gyan has joined NorthEast United FC for the 2019-20 season of the Indian Super League (ISL). 

The 33-year old striker has been without a club since July 1 after his contract ended with Turkish outfit Kayserispor and is raring to return to action with the Highlanders.

Gyan has played in the Premier League for Sunderland and had scored 11 goals in 36 appearances. He was loaned out to Al-Ain FC in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after spending a season with the Black Cats. He spent the best days of his career in Al-Ain, scoring 60 goals in 66 matches.

During his UAE stint, Gyan got the opportunity to participate in the AFC Champions League and he continued his prolific form in Asia with 18 goals in 22 matches.

The 33-year old also has the experience of playing in the Chinese Super League with Shanghai SIPG. After a year in China, he was loaned back to the UAE but this time to Al-Ahli. He scored eight goals in 21 appearances in his second stint in the Gulf nation. 

He has been an integral part of Ghana's national team since his debut in 2003 at the tender age of 17. He even scored on his international debut against Somalia after coming on from the bench in a World Cup qualifier match. He single-handedly fired Ghana to World Cup in 2006 as he scored four goals in seven matches in the qualifiers.

Gyan also scored the fastest goal of the tournament in 2006 when he netted against the Czech Republic just 68 seconds after kick-off.

He went on to participate in the World Cup in 2010 as well. Once again, his inspired form helped Ghana reach the knock out stage of the tournament. In the Round-of-16, he scored the winning goal against the United States of America in extra time to fire his country to the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Uruguay in tie-breakers.

In the 2014 World Cup, his strike against Germany in a 2-2 draw helped him equal Roger Milla's record of five goals in a World Cup.

The forward will be an important addition to the NorthEast squad and the void that has been created after the departure of Bartholomew Ogbeche has now been filled. Now, it remains to be seen whether he can inspire the John Abraham co-owned team to their maiden ISL title.