Viktor Gyokeres to Man United transfer latest - £20m discount, Zirkzee swap, Amorim comments

Manchester United remained linked with a move for Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyokeres.

Gyokeres is expected to leave the Portuguese side next summer after impressing since his £16.7million move from Coventry in July 2023. He scored 43 goals in 50 appearances during his debut season at Sporting and has since followed that up with a remarkable 23 in 18 at the start of this campaign.

Ruben Amorim's appointment at Old Trafford has increased speculation that Gyokeres could follow him from Portugal to the Premier League. Sporting president Frederico Vandaras revealed on Monday that he doesn't think Gyokeres will leave in January but did hint at a possible summer departure.

With that in mind, Manchester Evening News take a look at the latest surrounding a potential move to Manchester for Gyokeres....

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Green light

United have been handed a green light to make a move for Viktor Gyokeres after Barcelona president Deco claimed the Sporting CP forward is 'not a priority target' at the moment.

Alongside United, Barcelona are another team reported to be in the race for Gyokeres. However, president Deco, who had an established career at the top of world football himself, has played down rumours that the Sweden international could be on his way to the Catalan region anytime soon.

Speaking to Spanish publication Mundo Depotivo, Deco said: "He is a good player, he has been scoring goals for a long time in Portugal. We know him like others but he is not a priority at the moment and we [are not] looking for a No.9 to replace Robert [Lewandowski] because we want him to remain happy, scoring goals and at least stay for another season. We have won things and he is happy to be here. We are not going to talk about any player now."

That could leave United - and rivals Arsenal - a more open run to securing his signature.

Discounted price

The Telegraph reported earlier this month that Gyokeres could now be available for £63m at the end of the season, despite having an £83m release clause in his contract. He has three-and-a-half years left to run on his current deal, but Sporting appear to be open to accepting a lower fee for his signature.

Regardless, even if Sporting manage to get £63m, that would represent a huge profit compared to the £16.7m they paid to sign him from Coventry just over a year ago.

Zirkzee swap deal

United are planning to make a move for Sporting hotshot Gyokeres - and could offer Joshua Zirkzee as part of a player-plus-cash deal in return, according to Fabrizio Romano's Daily Briefing.

If United make a concrete attempt to sign Gyokeres, it's reported that the club could offer Zirkzee to Sporting in the process. The 23-year-old Dutchman has struggled for form since arriving in Manchester for £36.5m from Bologna in the summer, scoring just once in 16 matches across all competitions.

His future is already in doubt and Daily Briefing claim that a move to Sporting is a 'serious option' for Zirkzee. It does remain to be seen how much Zirkzee would knock off the reported £63m United might have to fork out to sign Gyokeres, but it could prove to be an astute deal for Amorim if he wanted to give it the green light.

Amorim on Gyokeres

Speaking on Gyokeres after he scored a hat-trick against Manchester City on November 5, Amorim said on TNT Sports: "I can’t make fun of it, right now, it was hard for me to leave, if I start joking about this Gyokeres situation I’ll get in trouble. This is my city, this is my country, so I’ll respect it."

The Portuguese coach then added: "Viktor has to stay until the end of the season, and then his life maybe is going somewhere else."