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Manchester United have received a boost in their reported pursuit of Viktor Gyokeres after Jose Fonte said that Sporting Lisbon may be forced to offload the striker due to financial constraints.
Ruben Amorim officially started work as the Red Devils’ new manager on November 11 after leaving Sporting and taking charge at Old Trafford following the dismissal of Erik ten Hag.
The club are 13th in the Premier League with just 15 points from 11 matchweeks, but the new boss will be pleased by the fact his side are only four points from third-placed Chelsea.
Amorim will have to work with the current squad until at least January, but this has not stopped fans and pundits from speculating about who the Portuguese might bring to Manchester.
One name frequently linked to the club has been Sporting’s Gyokeres, and former Premier League and current Primeira Liga defender Jose Fonte claims that the Swedish striker will inevitably leave Portugal, saying: “Portuguese clubs have got no option but to sell for the right price.
“We need to sell. Portuguese clubs have to sell one or two players every season. We don’t have the same TV rights as the Premier League so we don’t have the capacity to hold on to players. It would be lovely to see Portugal with a little bit more capacity to hold on to their talent, of course.”
Gyokeres and Amorim assessed
The 26-year-old has quite simply been sensational during his time in Portugal, scoring 29 goals and producing 10 assists in 33 league appearances in his debut season for Sporting last term.
This campaign, Gyokeres has already netted 26 times for club and country, including a hat-trick against Manchester City in a 4-1 rout of the English side in the Champions League on November 5.
The striker is able to compete physically with the strongest defenders, is quick enough to dart in behind opposition backlines and is able to link play very effectively.
Players such as Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo could thrive alongside Gyokeres given he would provide them with a focal point to play towards and would also allow them to play dangerous passes into the penalty area.
Having previously worked under Amorim, the transition to England could be smoother than if the striker were to transfer to another top side, and he would certainly make the Red Devils a more threatening prospect considering they have only scored 12 goals in 11 top flight games.
While Gyokeres would add considerably to United’s frontline, it may be hard to justify such a significant outlay in light of the expenditure on other forwards such as Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, who signed for the club for a combined fee of roughly £108m.
The two strikers have struggled at Old Trafford, scoring just 12 goals between them in their combined 48 Premier League appearances.
It is perhaps unfair to write the duo off given both are still young, but it is hard to see how either would get enough minutes to reach their full potential should United sign Gyokeres.
Additionally, there have been suggestions that Marcus Rashford could be used as a striker in Amorim’s system, but it remains to be seen whether Rashford would be able to play in a more supportive role next to the Swedish number nine.
However, Amorim will no doubt want to work with the players already at Old Trafford before deciding whether he needs to bring someone such as Gyokeres to the club, regardless of the forward’s obvious quality.