Viktor Gyokeres opens up on Man Utd transfer chances after explaining how Ruben Amorim ‘made him develop so much’

Viktor Gyokeres has been quizzed about the chances of him following Ruben Amorim to Manchester United – but the Sporting striker has remained fairly coy over the prospect.

Amorim brought the best out of Gyokeres during their time together in Lisbon, but the head coach has now begun his new role with Man Utd. He has ruled out any January moves for Sporting players, but in the long term, a striker in Gyokeres’ form could be someone that appeals to Amorim.

Joshua Zirkzee has not been in any kind of form since joining Man Utd from Bologna over the summer and there are already claims that he could make way for an upgrade, with Gyokeres among the options linked.

And while on international duty with Sweden, the former Coventry City striker has opened up on his future – but has dampened talk of any January move to Man Utd.

“He probably has some strikers there already, so we’ll see,” Gyokeres told Fotbollskanalen on the topic of Amorim potentially wanting him at Man Utd.

“It’s not something I think about. Of course, you want to play out the season at Sporting and I enjoy myself there, so there is no stress for me to make a move in the future. We’ll see when the time comes.”

It means a January move is almost certainly off the cards for one of Europe’s most in-form strikers, but at this rate, he could well be in view for clubs like Man Utd in the summer.

And as Amorim gets to work in Manchester, Gyokeres has given him credit for his sensational form since the start of last season.

“It is very sad that he is leaving, but of course we understand his decision,” Gyokeres admitted. “He has obviously meant a lot considering that he gave me that chance and that he made me develop so much. Now we look forward to working with the new coach.”

And after denying that Amorim has asked him about reuniting in Manchester, Gyokeres played down the speculation linking him with United.

“No. It’s fun but not something I attach any importance to because it’s talk and nothing concrete,” he confirmed.

Man Utd striker plans

While Gyokeres has asserted that Amorim has other strikers available to him, reports have suggested he will use Marcus Rashford up front for his first games in charge.

Amorim reportedly believes Rashford has the ideal traits for how he wants his striker to operate, which means Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee may find themselves on the bench.

Zirkzee is in fact in a fight for his future already, with one report claiming he could be sacrificed to Napoli in a swap deal that would allow Man Utd to sign Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen is currently on loan at Galatasaray, but there are clauses that can enable him to exit that agreement early, although it is not yet clear if the proposed swap deal would be organised for January or the summer.

In other news, Amorim is reportedly determined to reunite with another Sporting player who can help Man Utd at the opposite end of the pitch in defence.

IN FOCUS: Gyokeres under Amorim

They only worked together for 16 months, but it was a transformative collaboration between Amorim and Gyokeres in Lisbon.

Gyokeres was already a prominent Championship-level striker with Coventry. It was obvious he was too good for the second tier – but it turns out he’s even better than people thought back then.

Gyokeres scored 66 goals from 68 games under Amorim’s guidance. It means Amorim is the coach he has scored the most goals for in his career, surpassing Mark Robins.

In fact, Gyokeres had scored as many goals under Amorim as his former Coventry boss (43) by the end of his debut season in Lisbon.

Those 43 goals under Robins came over 116 appearances, which emphasises the astonishing rate Gyokeres has scored at under Amorim.

Not to mention he has also made more assists under Amorim (23) than any other coach (Robins again being the runner up with 17).

Amorim certainly unlocked Gyokeres’ potential to reach the next level on the European stage and the striker can only hope to continue in a similar vain under a different coach – unless they do reunite one day.