Amorim wish to bring £249.3m Portugal-based trio to Man Utd clarified as Sky Sports reporter drops big January window update

Ruben Amorim’s January transfer plans at Manchester United have been clarified after a big update from Kaveh Solhekol – with the trusted Sky Sports reporter also namedropping Viktor Gyokeres, Geovany Quenda and Tomas Araujo as his three leading targets from the Primeira Liga.

Amorim claimed his first win as Manchester United manager on Thursday night as they edged a 3-2 victory over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League, meaning that, despite all suggestions he faces a huge task to rebuild the club, the Red Devils are actually now on a six-match unbeaten run and have actually only lost one of their last 11 games in all competitions.

Nonetheless, the hard facts remain that United are way off the pace in the Premier League, having won just four of their 12 games to date and going into this weekend’s games 15 points behind leaders Liverpool.

And in the Europa League, United still have work to do to reach the next round despite Thursday’s victory over the Norwegian side seeing them rise to 12th in the 36-team league format.

Having already adopted his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation upon United, speculation has grown that a big recruitment push will be launched in 2025, with several players already linked with moves to Old Trafford ahead of the January window.

However, Sky Sports reporter Solhekol suggests United are unlikely to spend a penny in the winter window, having revealed that Amorim has not made any demands with regards new recruits.

“Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim’s focus at Old Trafford remains on working with and developing, the current squad of players,” Solhekol told Sky Sports News, who went on to name-drop three Portugal-based stars – all with €100m exit clauses each – whom he has an interest in bringing to United.

“Since his arrival from Sporting, rumours surrounding some of his former players have continued to emerge,” he added. “However, the Portuguese coach is believed to have not made any requests about buying players in January – including Portugal-based Victor Gyokeres, Geovany Quenda and Tomas Araujo.”

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What has Amorim said on Man Utd targets Gyokeres and Quenda?

Indeed, sources have informed us that United are also likely to experience a quiet January, with former manager Erik ten Hag allowed to embark on a sizeable spree this summer and with accounts showing they had a net spend of some £101.8m (€122.5m, $129.6m) once sales had been factored in.

And while new arrivals cannot be ruled out if some major sales are agreed, it is shaping up to be a relatively quiet winter window at Old Trafford as new minority shareholders INEOS look to keep the Red Devils on the right side of the Premier League’s strict Profit and Sustainability Rules.

United, though, will try and line up some sizeable business in the January window and Amorim’s wish to sign a new left-back will see sporting director Dan Ashworth trying to sign Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies on a pre-contract agreement.

And even if they fail to land him, they do have a list of left-back options they could target.

As far as Gyokeres and Quenda are concerned, Amorim has already stated he will not be raiding Sporting in the January window, though could offer no promises in the summer.

“I won’t in January, that’s what I said. I don’t know about the summer,” Amorim told reporters in Portugal when news of his impending move to Old Trafford first broke at the start of the month.

“The first point – to hold on until the summer. Sporting’s players are very good players. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

In a follow-up interview, when questioned about Viktor Gyokeres – another Sporting CP star United are keen on – Amorim told A Bola: “This is my city, this is my country, so I’ll respect it.”

On teenager winger Quenda, Amorim has already made clear just how highly he rates the 17-year-old winger.

“The important thing is not the ID card, but rather the maturity,” Amorim told the UK media when asked if he could fast-track some of United’s young talent. “It is not their age that matters, but the ability they demonstrate daily.

“Sometimes we can, with great care, speed up some players. Last year, Geovany Quenda spent more time in the under-23s, was barely in the B team and came straight here. He is very talented, very mature and understands the game like an adult. He has a lot of room to grow, but he played an excellent game and we have a player there.”

Araujo, meanwhile, stars for Sporting’s fierce rivals, Benfica, and like Gyokeres and Quenda, also has a €100m (£83.1m) exit clause in his deal.

Moves for all three could, potentially, set United back a combined £249.3m (€300m, $317.3m) if all players departed for their full exit clauses.

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As far as Quenda is concerned, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that United have held discussions with agent Jorge Mendes over 17-year-old, following his rapid rise at Sporting under Amorim.

Mendes is thought to be keen to move his client on with the winger having also been linked with Manchester Cty, PSG and Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Brazilian winger Antony has been named as the player most likely to be sold by Amorim in the January window.

Brought to the club by Ten Hag in summer 2022, Antony has struggled badly to fulfil his enormous price tag and is now rated at between the £25m to £40m mark.

And with Amorim keen to raise funds and clear out the deadwood from his squad, The Athletic’s United reporter, Laurie Whitwell, has now named Antony as the ‘most obvious’ player who will be put up for sale when the January transfer window opens.

With a new left-back very much Amorim’s major priority in the 2025 transfer windows, reports from Italy have now listed United as one of three Premier League sides chasing a deal for Atalanta’s Matteo Ruggeri.

The 22-year-old is enjoying an excellent campaign for the Italian side, who are currently second in the Serie A table and well placed to reach the next phase of the Champions League.

Any deal, though, will not come cheap and the Bergamo side are understood to have already ruled out his sale in the winter window.

Gyokeres’ record over the years