SUNDERLAND’S ambitious bid to sign Peter Crouch has hit a major stumbling block, with Harry Redknapp wanting Asamoah Gyan in return.

The Tottenham manager has been tracking 25-year-old Gyan for months and with a new striker his priority, the Ghana international is on his hit-list.

Black Cats boss Steve Bruce would love to take Crouch to the Stadium of Light, having failed to persuade him to move north two years ago.

However, he does not want to sacrifice Gyan to get him.

The charismatic African scored 10 goals in 31 games for Sunderland last term following an eye-catching World Cup and his club record £13m move from Rennes.

When Fraizer Campbell and Danny Welbeck were both sidelined, Gyan was the Black Cats’ only fit striker following Darren Bent’s January departure – until injury cut short his own campaign.

Bruce announced last month he is in the market for three forwards and even if he signs Liverpool’s David Ngog, he would still be short up front.

It would be a huge gamble to sell Gyan, even if it meant landing Crouch. And publicly at least, Redknapp insists he doesn’t want to lose the beanpole striker.

The White Hart Lane boss said: “Crouchy is a good player. I like him. He is a great lad and I love him as a fella. He is not one I’m looking to shift.

“We are looking to bring a striker in but he is not one of those that we are looking to sell, if we can help it.”

Sunderland are still negotiating a fee with Liverpool for Ngog, whose move is not linked to Jordan Henderson’s switch in the opposite direction.

Liverpool initially slapped a £7m price tag on the 22-year-old Frenchman, but it is thought he will eventually leave for less than half that.

The Black Cats are also waiting to hear back from Manchester United after tabling a £12m bid for John O’Shea, Wes Brown and Darron Gibson.

While Gibson is keen to move, O’Shea and Brown are waiting to see if there is interest from any other clubs.

Sunderland have also completed a permanent deal for Ahmed Elmohamady.

The winger spent last season on loan at the Stadium of Light from Egyptian club ENPPI, making 38 appearances.

Sunderland activated a clause in the deal to buy him outright. Bruce said: “Ahmed has done well in his first season with the club and has shown plenty of potential. I think there is much more to come from him.”