Man Utd to delay signing of unstoppable striker by six months to secure £25m discount

Manchester United are prepared to wait six months before bringing a striker with an obscene goalscoring record in 2024 to Old Trafford, according to a report.

Ruben Amorim’s arrival at Manchester United has been met with optimism so far, with the club already showing a clear playing style and identity on the pitch. The 2-0 defeat to Arsenal was a timely reminder there’ll be no quick fix, though United have at least taken the first step towards righting the wrongs of the last 10 years.

To accelerate that process, Man Utd will need to sign players keenly suited to Amorim’s demands and 3-4-3 system.

One player who knows Amorim well is Sporting CP hitman, Viktor Gyokeres. Indeed, the Swede established himself as one of world football’s most feared forwards during the latter stages of Amorim’s spell in Lisbon.

Gyokeres notched from the spot in a Primeira Liga clash with Moreirense on Thursday to bring his goals tally in 2024 for club and country to a remarkable 60 goals.

As you might expect, Gyokeres is now courting heavyweight interest including from Man Utd. Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg claimed on December 3 that United have held ‘initial concrete talks’ over Gyokeres’ transfer.

But according to a fresh update from Portuguese outlet A Bola, it is ‘unlikely’ that Man Utd – or any other club – sign Gyokeres in January.

The player is protected by a €100m (£83m / $106m) release clause that Sporting will strictly adhere to next month. Per the report, the clause is the ‘only condition for signing’ Gyokeres mid-season.

However, once the summer window rolls around, Sporting are willing to let Gyokeres leave at a significantly reduced rate.

Echoing prior claims by Sky Germany who stated Gyokeres can leave next summer for a fee in the €60m-€70m range, A Bola noted the bidding will begin at €70m.

How high Gyokeres’ price tag goes will, per the report, depend on how many bidders there are.

Aside from Man Utd, Manchester City and Barcelona are known admirers. Man City’s incoming sporting director, Hugo Viana, was the director of football at Sporting when Gyokeres was signed from Coventry City.

Amorim fine with six-month Gyokeres delay

Speaking soon after taking the reins at Man Utd, Amorim was asked about raiding former club Sporting in the winter window.

“I won’t in January, that’s what I said. I don’t know about the summer,” admitted Amorim.

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

Waiting an extra six months for Gyokeres makes perfect sense given the potential €30m (£25m / $32m) discount on offer.

Furthermore, in lieu of United’s roughly £180m spend on transfers last summer, sources have told TEAMtalk Man Utd don’t have a sizeable budget for the January window anyway.

That won’t necessarily prevent United from attempting to help Amorim with a mid-season addition or two. However, any deals are likely to be of a more modest nature unless the club can successfully sell some of their own stars.

GO DEEPER: The 13 players who left Man Utd this summer and how they’re faring with next step

Latest Man Utd news – Leny Yoro, Alphonso Davies

In other news, Fabrizio Romano has revealed Amorim and his coaching staff all believe Leny Yoro will be a ‘crucial’ part of the project at Old Trafford.

“Leny Yoro made his debut for Man Utd [on Wednesday] and will be crucial part of Ruben Amorim’s project,” wrote Romano.

“In every internal meeting, even during talks before joining United, Amorim and his staff mentioned Leny as crucial player and smart signing.

“His game time will be managed to avoid any injury in the next weeks but he’s for sure considered the ‘ideal player to sign’ by technical staff and of course Man Utd’s management.”

Elsewhere, Man Utd look set to miss out on the signing of Alphonso Davies.

The Canadian left-back had emerged as a ‘dream’ target for Amorim in one of the wing-back positions.

But per the latest from Sky Germany, Bayern Munich have made ‘significant progress’ in contract talks and the expectation is Davies will now extend his stay in Bavaria.

Gyokeres nearly a goal-a-game for Amorim