- Man United will face significant competition for Viktor Gyokeres
- Gyokeres, who has scored 23 goals this season, is highly sought after
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Manchester United will reportedly face competition from three Champions League clubs for the signing of Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres is one of the most sought-after strikers in world football. His reputation has been further enhanced by his hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League this week.
With Sporting boss Ruben Amorim taking charge of United, speculation has increased that Gyokeres could make the move to Old Trafford.
However, a deal is unlikely to be easy with several other big clubs also pursuing the 26-year-old.
Gyokeres previously played in English football for Brighton, Swansea and Coventry.
Man United will face competition from several clubs for Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres
There are claims that Gyokeres could follow Sporting boss Ruben Amorim to Old Trafford
As reported by L’EquipeManchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are also interested in signing Gyokeres.
It is reported that PSG are unlikely to pursue a move for Gyokeres in January given Sporting’s asking price of over £62 million (€75 million). He has a release clause of £83 million (€100 million).
Since joining Sporting in 2023, Gyokeres has boasted a hugely impressive record of 66 goals in 67 games in all competitions.
United can already call on the likes of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee as striking options, but the arrival of Gyokeres would give them a major boost.
Gyokeres helped Sporting win the Portuguese national title last season. He was named in the 2022-2023 Championship team of the season during his final campaign in Coventry.
After Sporting’s 4-1 win at home to City, Amorim suggested Gyokeres would stay at the Portuguese club until the summer before leaving.
Amorim told A Bola: “If I start making jokes about this Gyokeres situation, I will get into trouble.
“This is my city, this is my country, so I will respect it. Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then his life will probably go somewhere else.’
Man City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are following Gyokeres in anticipation of a possible transfer
Amorim suggested that Gyokeres will stay at Sporting until the end of the season
Rio Ferdinand had tipped Gyokeres to follow Amorim to United. Speaking to TNT Sports, Ferdinand said: ‘The recruitment teams of all the clubs in the Premier League are probably scratching their heads over the way they let him get away.
‘He didn’t have a conventional route, his route to the top was not easy.
“He was at Brighton as a kid, sold to Coventry, loaned out to Swansea, comes back to Coventry and does well, then goes to Sporting Lisbon.
‘He has had a journey in which he has had to build himself up and create what he is today.
“You think, ‘How did he get out?’, all of a sudden when you see what he has, maybe he’s grown into what he is, the confidence, the stature he has, the physicality he could have had to wait until that happens.
“Today he blew away from players a few times, keeping people away.”