Manchester United’s path towards securing Ruben Amorim his dream summer signing is narrowing as Liverpool have joined the red-hot race for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Amorim is believed to be actively pushing for a reunion with his former protégé after United’s worst campaign in Premier League history.
The Need for Goals
The Portuguese coach has identified the misfiring attack – only four sides scored fewer league goals than the Red Devils last year – as the primary weakness in his team.
No player in the squad reached double figures while the senior striking partnership of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee combined for just seven goals, despite their collective transfer fees surpassing £100 million across successive summer windows.
A £62.5 million deal for Matheus Cunha has already been agreed while United appear on the verge of completing a similarly-priced deal for Bryan Mbeumo – two of the league’s top-performing forwards last season.
But a new number nine remains an urgent priority after a failed pursuit of Liam Delap as the England U-21 international rejected United’s advances in favour of a switch to Chelsea.
Amorim was always believed to have preferred pursuit of Gyokeres, however, whose incredible record in Lisbon – 97 goals in 102 games – has fired Sporting to back-to-back Liga Portugal titles, as well as a cup win this season.
The 27-year-old frontman is prioritising a move to a Champions League club with United’s defeat in the Europa League final last month confirming there will no European football at Old Trafford next season.
This has led Gyokeres to signal his preference is to join Arsenal this summer with the North London club’s new sporting director, Andre Berta, a huge fan of the Sweden international.
The Gunners are at the front of the queue for striker, ahead of the Reds and clubs on the continent, including Juventus and Atletico Madrid, having seen one bid rejected already by Sporting.
But United remain in the hunt after receiving positive noises from Gyokeres’ camp yesterday that he would still be open to a move to the Theatre of Dreams.
Interest from Anfield
However, Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã now reveals Liverpool have identified Gyokeres as a target to “strengthen their attack” with Darwin Nunez set to depart Anfield in the opposite direction.
The Premier League champions view the Swede as “someone who can make a difference and who can help the team renew their title as champions, but also try to win the Champions League, something that has not happened since 2018/2019.”
However, the report states Sporting will only accept €80 million for their attacking talisman – a ” far cry from what the ‘Reds’ are willing to spend”.
Neither Arsenal nor Liverpool appear willing to meet the Lisbon club’s threshold to depart with Gyokeres after it was believed the 27-year-old had struck a gentleman’s agreement with executives to sanction a departure for a fee in the region of €70 million.
Sporting president Federico Varandas rejected this arrangement in a bombastic public interview, instead declaring the only agreement was the Lions would not ask for Gyokeres’ full release clause, worth €100 million. He accused the Swede’s camp of “blackmail and insults” in a brutal war of words.
In response, Gyokeres informed Sporting he would not play for them again and removing any mention of the club from his social media.
But Varandas appears intent on digging his heels over this price hike – with neither of the England clubs in the Champions League next season willing to match it. And this gives United a narrow window of opportunity to strike a deal with Sporting and then work on a deal to convince Gyokeres, rather than the reverse which has proved unsuccessful for Arsenal thus far.
Featured image Carlos Rodrigues via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
