Atletico Madrid are reportedly Manchester United‘s strongest competition when it comes to a summer deal for Sporting Lisbon‘s in-form centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres.
The Sweden international is having an outstanding 2024-25 campaign for his Lisbon club, scoring 52 goals and registering 12 assists in 48 appearances in all competitions.
Gyokeres has a record of 95 goals and 27 assists in 98 outings for Sporting, meanwhile, and he is expected to be on the move during this summer’s transfer window.
There is a £85m release clause in his contract, but it is understood that Sporting could sell for a fee in the region of £55m due to a gentleman’s agreement which exists between the player and club.
According to Fichajes, Man United are ‘accelerating contacts’, with the Red Devils preparing ‘an ambitious offer’ for the former Coventry City striker, but a major European club is said to be planning to battle them for his services.
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Atletico ‘rivalling’ Man United for Gyokeres deal
Arsenal are among the clubs also believed to be keen on Gyokeres, but Man United’s main competition is said to be arriving from Atletico, with Diego Simeone‘s side having big plans for the upcoming summer transfer window.
Atletico are allegedly hopeful that they will be able to convince Gyokeres to reject a lucrative switch to the Premier League in order to make what would be an attractive move to Wanda Metropolitano.
There have been suggestions that Man United will need to qualify for next season’s Champions League to stand a chance of completing a deal of that magnitude.
However, Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim has insisted that he will not sign any players who only want to represent Man United in certain competitions.
“Gyokeres deal? I didn’t talk to him,” Amorim told Sport TV Portugal. “But if a player only wants to come to Man United to play Champions League, then he won’t come. We want players who want to represent United, not players who want to play certain competitions.”
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How will the situation play out?
Realistically, it will be very difficult for Man United to sign Gyokeres if they are not in the Champions League next season.
The club have a route into the European Cup via the Europa League, with the first leg of their semi-final against Athletic Bilbao set to take place on Thursday evening, before the return game at Old Trafford next week.
All of the signs are pointing towards Gyokeres leaving Sporting, and a reunion with Amorim in Manchester is certainly on the cards, as Man United will have money to spend this summer due to the expected departures of Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho, while Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund are also available for the right price.
