Video: Asamoah Gyan will be a great asset for Ghana at AFCON 2019: Derek Boateng

He explained that the experience of Gyan will be a necessity to spur Ghana on as they aim at winning the continental showpiece.

READ MORE: List of Black Stars skippers at the Africa Cup of Nations

Asamoah Gyan has played in every single Africa Cup of Nations since 2008 and has emerged as Ghana’s all-time top scorer in the competition with eight goals.

Gyan has been inconsistent this year due to injuries, but he has scored three games in his last two games for his Turkish outfit Kayserispor.

His former teammate Derek Boateng has indicated that Gyan will still need the presence of the former Sunderland striker in order to do well in the 2019 AFCON since the team will have a lot of first timers in the competition.

“Even if you are taking Asamoah Gyan and you not playing him in starting XI, you need to take him, because, in these kinds of tournaments, you need experienced players around the team,” he told Pulse Ghana Sports in an interview.

“Some of the players haven’t played in the AFCON before. Trust me this tournament is different from the World Cup. It is very tough. This is Africa, no one wants you to dribble him. It is not like we playing in Europe against these whites. We need all our players, we need everyone. We don’t need them; we don’t have to divide them.

Asamoah Gyan has been named in Ghana’s provisional 29-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.

Asamoah Gyan was stripped of his Black Stars captaincy last week, `with Andre Ayew being named as the new skipper of the team.

The former Ghana skipper who was dissatisfied with the decision resigned from the national team, but he made a U-turn, following an intervention by President Akufo-Addo.