There is probably no big club in Europe with a greater need for a striker this summer than Manchester United.
Coming off the back of their worst season in Premier League history, the Red Devils are desperate to strengthen their forward line, with Matheus Cunha in the bag and Bryan Mbeumo highly likely to follow soon.
The real jewel in the crown, however, is expected to be a specialist centre forward, an out-and-out goalscorer capable of take+ing the burden off Rasmus Hojlund and Josh Zirkzee, who managed a pitiful seven Premier League goals between them last time around.
Yet so far this summer, it seems as if United have stood on the transfer playground playing piggy in the middle and always being the piggy.
Chelsea snapped up Liam Delap, Juventus are about to snap up Jonathan David and yesterday it emerged that Arsenal had agreed personal terms with Bully’s special prize, Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres. Meanwhile, United have signed no-one, have reached zero personal terms agreements and in truth, nobody in the media seems to even know who they are actually trying to sign.
The waiting game
Given that United look to have given Juventus a free run at David and have not made significant headroads into pursuits of the likes of Hugo Ekitike and Moise Kean, it seems logical to surmise that they might be waiting to see how the Gunners’ negotiations with Gyokeres pan out.
Andrea Berti, the new sporting director at the Emirates, has been pursuing deals for both the 27 year old and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko. Should Sesko cross the finish line first, then United’s head coach Ruben Amorim would have an excellent chance of securing a dream reunion with his former employee in Lisbon.
Against this backdrop, yesterday’s news that the North London club had reached an agreement on a five-year contract with the big Swede appeared to be the death knell for United’s hopes.
Fake News
All may not be lost, though, according to Portuguese outlet Record (this morning’s paper edition, page 4).
They report that yesterday’s claims of the player agreement, peddled by French outlet l’Équipe, are in fact false.
“In truth, Vik does not have any kind of agreement with Arsenal and nor is Sporting closing any deal,” the outlet claims.
Furthermore, Record insist that “Sesko remains at the top of the English vice-champions’ list, but Gyokeres has not been discarded.”
So far Record have been accurate on this saga, having well-placed sources at Sporting. It is therefore good news for United, although the outlet continue by noting that no other club, including United or Liverpool, as yet appears “on the horizon”.
Like United, Liverpool seem to be keeping their powder dry as they continue to negotiate the departure of their front man, Darwin Nunez. Whether or not they will prove to be a confounding factor in the case of Gyokeres remains to be seen.
For now, though, it’s business as usual at the Alvalade Stadium, and the wantaway Scandinavian’s bags are not being packed any time soon.
Featured image Gualter Fatia via Getty Images
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Red Billy
Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and totally obsessed with football’s transfer market. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance.
