According to reports, Premier League giants Manchester United already have one summer signing ‘in place’ as they look to strengthen in attack.
The Red Devils are enduring a torrid season on and off the pitch as they languish in the bottom half of the Premier League table and face scrutiny for board decisions.
Under new head coach Ruben Amorim, Man Utd have lost eight of their last 20 matches in all competitions and a huge overhaul is required this year.
This got underway in January, but Man Utd were not as active in the window as they would have liked. They needed to offload unwanted talents to raise funds and could only get rid of Marcus Rashford and Antony.
This lack of business meant new wing-back Patrick Dorgu – at an initial £25m – was their only major signing in January and they are lacking in forward areas.
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Man Utd were linked with several forwards in January but they failed to land a replacement for Rashford, who completed his loan move to Aston Villa towards the end of the window.
Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are Man Utd’s only natural centre-forwards and they are under immense scrutiny amid their lack of goals this season.
United are expected to target a new striker in the summer and Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres is among their options.
The Red Devils have been heavily linked with Gyokeres following Amorim’s move to Old Trafford as they have a great relationship from their time at Sporting Lisbon. He is a contender to be Europe’s top scorer in 2025 and has 34 goals in his 34 appearances this season.
Despite this, it was revealed last month that he has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Sporting Lisbon to leave for only £58m in the summer.
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United could face competition from several Premier League rivals in the race to land Gyokeres, but a report from The Independent’s Miguel Delaney claims they already have a deal “in place” to sign the striker and this is why they didn’t replace Rashford in January.
“The club did not replace [Rashford] with any forward… and the thinking there is that Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres is in place for the summer,” Delaney wrote in his Reading the Game newsletter.
“Things can change, of course, but this was very much the noise at the end of the window.”
Shortly after joining Man Utd, Amorim promised not to sign players from Sporting Lisbon in January but he remained coy about the summer.
Amorim said: “I won’t be signing [Sporting players] in January, that’s what I said.
“I don’t know about the summer. The main thing is to hold on until the summer [laughs]. After that, we’ll see, Sporting’s players are very good players. I don’t know. We’ll see.”
