JAAP Stam has opened the lid on Asamoah Gyan's failed deadline-day move to Reading FC.

Gyan was on the verge of joining Royals on a one-year loan from Chinese club Shanghai SIPG last week.

But Stam called off the chase when the 30-year-old ex-Sunderland striker failed a medical.

Ghana captain Gyan denied the move had broken down due to his lack of fitness on social media.

However, Stam has set the record straight, saying: “He [Gyan] wasn't in very good shape. If you do a medical you can say, 'okay we will sign you'. But if you do that you take a lot of risks.

“When he joined us Reading did a very good medical which was important because the player has been injured a lot in the past and hasn't played a lot of games.

“You need to be sure that when you bring a player in he is fit and you don't need to work on him for six to eight weeks to get him into shape.

“Then maybe there is a risk of him getting injured during that period so he is out for a longer time.”

Stam also stressed the prospect of losing Gyan for the African Cup of Nations also put him off.

“If he goes away with Ghana in January and February we lose him for another two months, so you are taking a big risk.

“I heard he didn't agree he wasn't in good shape, but that was the case.

“Of course, every player will say they are because he wants to play, but our medical people aren't going to lie because it's not good for them if they do.

“Players say they are, but he wasn't, and that's why we made the decision not to sign him.”

He added: “I've been a player as well and certain players are always looking for excuses.

“The thing is if you are not fit, you are not going away to play for your country, that's it.

“If he was fit and ready to play for us, the we would have been happy for him to go and play for Ghana. It's the same for Stephen Quinn. Paul McShane, Garath McCleary or Chris Gunter – if they are not fit they aren't going to represent their country.

“They will be having treatment with us because the club is paying their salary.

“It's not about us not wanting him [Gyan] to play for Ghana. That's a load of rubbish.

“It's easy to blame the club when a transfer doesn't go through, but it's not about that.

“Had he been fit we would have let him go to Ghana. But he wasn't so we said he couldn't go because he needed to work on his fitness over here.”

Gyan, who is Ghana's all time leading scorer with 48 international goals, was earning a reported £225,000 per week in China.

But after netting seven times in 20 appearances for Shanghai last season, he was seeking a move back to England.

However, when he failed a medical at Reading he re-signed for Al Ain in Dubai, having hit 73 goals in 65 games for them between 2012-15.

And Stam stressed Reading's decision not to sign Gyan was not a financial one.

“To be honest, he [Gyan] wasn't that expensive,” he revealed. “ But you also need to ask if there's a reason why he is leaving that club if he's that good and that fit? We took that into consideration.

“But we're always looking for quality strikers. He's done well in the UK, Saudia Arabia and China and he's done very well for the national team.

“I've seen clips of him play and he's a quality striker, but there are other quality strikers in the world looking for a club.

“We're still looking because we want to be sure as we don't have that much money to spend on players or wages.

“If we're going to spend we need to be certain the player is fit and ready to produce.”

Reading return from a two week international break when they host Ipswich Town under the Madejski Stadium floodlights tomorrow night (8pm ko, live Sky Sports).