Sunderland have entered the race for Asamoah Gyan in a bold bid to reunite three members of Ghana’s World Cup squad.

The Rennes striker, who missed the last-minute penalty in his country’s quarter final defeat to Uruguay last Friday, which ended in penalty shoot-out heartache, has been heavily linked with a move to West Ham.

But the Hammers have put that deal on hold while juggling other targets such as Nice striker Loic Remy.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has a healthy summer budget and could match Rennes’ £7million valuation of Gyan.

Bruce is still hopeful he can secure a deal for Gyan’s Ghana captain John Mensah, who has been linked with a move to Hamburg, after a successful season on loan at the Stadium of Light and has expressed an interest in taking AC Milan’s Ghana striker Dominic Adiyiah, 20.

Gyan, who played much of the tournament alone up front, finished with three goals and also scored in the fateful shoot-out.

His strong performances leading the line alerted several clubs across the continent. Sunderland are also competing with West Ham for Algeria defender Rafik Halliche, 21, who is available for around £1.2m from Benfica.