Report: Manchester United join race for 36-goal striker who is making waves in Europe
According to a report from HITC, Manchester United have entered the transfer race for Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres as they look to land a prolific goalscorer this summer.
Having arrived at Sporting CP from Coventry City last summer, Viktor Gyokeres, 25, has been one of the leading goalscorers in Europe this season. He has been sensational in front of goal, netting 36 goals across all competitions to date. In addition, the Swedish international has 16 assists to his name, which shows the creative side of his game too.
Gyokeres’ eye-catching numbers in Portugal have drawn the attention of Manchester United, whose new minority owners INEOS are planning wholesale changes to the squad. They want to refresh the spine of the squad by bringing in a new centre-back, a new midfielder and a forward. INEOS are evaluating several options, but Gyokeres is a name that has stood out. However, HITC states the Red Devils fear arch-rivals Liverpool could ruin their plans of landing the Swedish centre-forward.
Bayern Munich star Harry Kane and Brentford striker Ivan Toney are also under the Mancunian club’s consideration ahead of the summer transfer window, with manager Erik ten Hag—regardless of his position coming under intense scrutiny in recent weeks—part of the planning process behind the scenes. The report claims that talks have taken place over a potential deal for Gyokeres, who has indicated to Sporting he is ready to leave this summer after just one season.
Arsenal and Chelsea have both held talks with the striker’s representatives, having scouted him on many occasions, whilst Newcastle United are also keeping tabs on him. Nonetheless, Man United have reached out to Gyokeres and the striker is keen on a potential move to Old Trafford when the transfer window reopens, the report adds.
Red Devil Armada’s verdict:
Rasmus Hojlund has been under scrutiny since arriving at the club from Atalanta last summer. He is young and still adapting to the rigours of Premier League football, so Man United wants to bring in another option in attack.
As things stand, we are pushing to sign Gyokeres, who has an £86m release clause in his contract. Given Sporting only signed him last year, it might be a hard job to convince them to accept a penny less. If there is anything that could stop us from acquiring the Swede’s signature, it will be the cost as I don’t think INEOS would be splashing big on just one player when we have many problematic areas to address.