Bruce will hand the 24-year-old Ghana international a first start for the club in tomorrow night's Carling Cup third-round clash with West Ham at the Stadium of Light as he attempts to edge him towards full match fitness following his post-World Cup lay-off. However, having already seen flashes of the form which persuaded him to part with in excess of £13million of owner Ellis Short's cash last month, even he is excited at the prospect of watching him in full flow. Bruce said: "I know he is an outstanding prospect. "There was a time when Arsenal mishit a back-pass on Saturday and you saw his blistering pace. He flew after it, and we know he has got that in the locker. "He has got terrific pace and terrific power and he is good in the air, and he has got a great appetite for the game in terms of work-rate. "That was what attracted me to him - he is willing. I have seen him on many occasions play for Ghana up front on his own and he loves it, he cherishes it. "He is a beast when he starts. But the Premier League is the Premier League and I don't care who you are, if you are not right physically, you will find it tough in this league." Gyan, who looked to be heading for Turkey until a big-money move to Fenerbahce fell through, announced his arrival in English football with a goal on his debut as a substitute in the 1-1 draw at Wigan on September 11, and he was again introduced from the bench on Saturday as the Black Cats struck late to snatch a point against Arsenal. Bruce has made something of a name for himself in recent years by snapping up foreign talent and successfully assimilating those signings into his teams. He has had to be patient at times, especially with some of his recruits from South America, but he is convinced that Gyan, like fellow African Ahmed Elmohamady, the Egypt international midfielder, will quickly find his feet on the high-tempo Premier League stage. Bruce said: "Usually an African player can adapt to it. "If you look at Ahmed, for example, I don't think he has had any problems because physically, he is more than capable and he hasn't found that a problem. "The big thing with Asamoah is he has only really trained for a week since he walked through the door. "After we signed him, he then had to fly off to Swaziland - he has been everywhere - and also, he was holed up in Turkey for about 10 days and that move fell through. "He knows that, too, he is a sensible enough and bright enough character to realise that." Gyan and Dutch midfielder Bolo Zenden will both start against the Hammers, while there could be places for the likes of Andy Reid and Jack Colback too, although Bruce will field a strong team. He said: "We are capable of winning a cup, although history tells you that the big boys seem to win that as well. "But we will do our utmost. We are capable of winning five, six games, and that's what you need to do to win a bit of silverware. "We will treat it with the respect it deserves, put out a team I hope is good enough to win the match and see where it takes us."
