Asamoah Gyan's career at Sunderland appears to be over after the Ghana striker agreed to join United Arab Emirates side Al Ain on a season-long loan.
The 25-year-old international became Sunderland's record signing when he arrived at the Stadium of Light for 13 million pounds ($20 million) from French club Rennes just over a year ago, but has failed to settle.
Despite comments on the Sunderland website on Saturday that suggested he would be happy to have Gyan back at the club next year, coach Steve Bruce later said that was unlikely.
''I don't believe he has a future here,'' Bruce said after his club's 2-1 home defeat against Chelsea.
Bruce also suggested Gyan's priorities were askew after swapping English football for a club in the UAE.
''I will let everybody else make their conclusions. To go and leave the Premier League for the United Arab Emirates, I will let you make your own conclusion to that,'' he said.
Gyan made his name at the 2010 World Cup where he scored three goals, but missed a penalty with the final kick of extra time in the quarterfinal against Uruguay. Ghana lost the ensuing penalty shootout, though Gyan did convert his kick.
Gyan scored 11 goals in 37 appearances for Sunderland, but found his place under threat after the recent signings of South Korea's Ji Dong-won, England under-21 striker Connor Wickham and Denmark's Nicklas Bendtner.
''He's been unsettled now, if we are being brutally honest, for weeks and months,'' Bruce said. ''It's disappointing, but we draw a line under it. We decided to cut the best deal possible and we move on.''
Al Ain could not be reached for comment, but UAE media had previously reported that club's officials were in talks with Sunderland about the player.
Sunderland acknowledged that talks about a permanent move had taken place before the loan deal was agreed.
Former Ghana striker Abedi Pele played for Al Ain in the late 1990s, but Gyan will join a current squad containing mostly UAE players.
Al Ain has signed three other foreign players in recent weeks ahead of the new season starting Oct. 15: Argentina's Ignacio Scocco, Mirel Radoi of Romania and Saudi Arabia's Yasser al-Qahtani.
The club is owned by Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
