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Following a dismal 2024/25 campaign that saw Manchester United finish a lowly 15th place in the Premier League, having suffered 18 losses and collecting just 42 points, the club is bracing for an extremely busy transfer window in a bid to right the wrongs of the past year.
Boosting the team’s goal output appears to be the number one item on Ruben Amorim’s agenda. After announcing the arrival of Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers and with a deal for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo on the brink of completion, all attention is now set to shift towards securing the services of a new and reliable striker.
United had earmarked Liam Delap as their top striker target, but the youngster opted for a move to Chelsea instead. Now, if the transfer whispers are to be trusted, Viktor Gyokeres is the next man being lined up to lead the line.
Blistering pace, brute strength, and a cannon of a right foot, Gyokeres exploded onto the global stage last season, delivering a jaw-dropping 54 goals in 52 appearances and announcing himself as one of football’s most lethal finishers. He came close to clinching the European Golden Shoe but was ultimately pipped to the prize by Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe, with Liga Portugal’s lower coefficient playing a key role in the final standings.
A report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Gyokeres is keen on a transfer to United, even without European football next season. Who needs the Champions League when you’ve got mid-table chaos and frequent existential crisis episodes?
On paper, Gyokeres ticks all the boxes – bags goals for fun, ready to make the leap to a more demanding league, numbers to die for and he even has history with Amorim from their Sporting CP days. What could possibly go wrong?
Yet, some fans have picked up on a curious detail. Despite his ridiculous numbers, there doesn’t seem to be a queue of top European clubs banging down the door for Gyokeres. Most elite sides are in the market for a headline striker, yet United somehow have a free run at him. When’s the last time that happened?
Rarely has a United transfer target divided the fanbase quite like Gyokeres. To some, he’s the ideal striker – powerful, prolific, and familiar with Amorim’s system. To others, he’s a walking red flag wrapped in a goalscoring disguise. And honestly, who can blame them? We’ve been burned so many times, the trauma’s practically built into our DNA.
In this article, I lay out the case for why United should steer clear of the Swedish frontman and set their sights elsewhere in the search for a striker.
League gap and player adaptation
It’s no secret that Liga Portugal isn’t the strongest division in Europe, and the significant gulf in quality between it and the Premier League is a major factor fuelling the widespread concerns around Gyokeres.
Liga Portugal is considerably less competitive than the Premier League and beyond the traditional heavyweights (Sporting, Benfica and Porto), most teams lack the defensive organisation and individual quality that would truly test a top-level striker. In contrast, the Premier League is an unforgiving battleground where nearly every fixture is a dogfight and securing three points is rarely straightforward. Strikers have to fight tooth and nail for every goal. That’s the reality, and there’s no hiding from it.
A quick glance at Gyokeres’ goal catalogue will reveal a clear pattern. His trademark is exploiting large pockets of space and punishing exposed defences. That kind of room and time simply doesn’t exist in the Premier League. It would be a rare luxury in England.
Again, Gyokeres tends to thrive by making intelligent runs down the channels, which is a responsibility typically assumed by wingers in Premier League systems. While this movement causes havoc in Liga Portugal, it may be far less effective in England, where tactical discipline is tighter and roles are far more rigid. He’s not your traditional target man, and in a league that often demands one, that could be a tactical mismatch waiting to happen.
It also doesn’t help that Gyokeres isn’t particularly dominant in the air, which is an area where Premier League strikers are often expected to compete. Although to be fair, United aren’t exactly known for whipping in crosses with regularity. Still, it’s another factor that limits his versatility and could severely hinder his chances of success.
Poor track record in English football
I’m a romantic at heart and appreciate a good redemption arc as much as anyone but unfortunately, sentiment has little place in football transfers.
While Gyokeres has excelled in Portugal, it would be remiss not to factor in his past difficulties in England.
Despite a promising run at Coventry City, Gyokeres’ earlier struggles at Brighton and Hove Albion and Swansea City suggest that adapting to the pace and physicality of English football has not always come easily. That history still lingers in the conversation around a potential Premier League return.
Bitter public feud with Sporting
If you thought United held the title for Europe’s most dramatic football soap opera, think again. Sporting have just burst through the door and snatched the crown with their latest Gyokeres theatrics.
It’s been consistently reported that despite the €100 million release clause in Gyokeres’ contract, there was a gentleman’s agreement in place between the player and Sporting, allowing for a summer exit at a reduced fee. A figure around €70 million was widely cited as the expected asking price.
The so-called “gentleman’s agreement” was born out of Gyokeres’ loyalty to Sporting. The 27-year-old turned down interest from elsewhere both last summer and during the January window, choosing instead to stay and help supercharge their title challenge. That show of commitment was said to have earned him a promise that the club wouldn’t stand in his way this summer.
In completely shocking news (read: not shocking at all), Sporting have seemingly backpedalled on their word and have filed that gentleman’s agreement under “fiction.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the club’s president – Frederico Varandas – dramatically cut short his holiday to deliver an explosive address to the media, where he accused Gyokeres’ camp of resorting to “threats, blackmail and insults” in an effort to engineer an exit.
A fuming Varandas made it crystal clear that under no circumstances will Gyokeres leave for a €70m financial package. Sporting want more than that and they are determined to get it.
Normally, this kind of chaos has United’s name written all over it – dramatic twists, public spats, and wildly inflated fees. It’s the kind of transfer fiasco that practically writes its own headlines. It’s basically United’s tradition since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
But Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS seem determined to break the old United habit, opting instead to operate with precision, silence and speed in the market. They’re unlikely to want any part in the Gyokeres saga, and for good measure, especially if Sporting continue to cling to their sky-high valuation of the player.
There are alternative striker options available who would come at a lower cost, present fewer associated risks, and involve far less off-field distraction or negotiation complications.
But you don’t have to take my word for it when it comes to Gyokeres. Just ask six-time Premier League winner and legendary United defender Rio Ferdinand, who, by all indications, seems to be on the same wavelength.
Asked whether Gyokeres is the right fit for United, Ferdinand didn’t mince his words as he answered, “I don’t think he’s the guy. I’ve not watched him loads [but] I’ve watched him probably three times really, really closely.”
“And three times I’ve gone, ‘He ain’t getting that opportunity in the Prem’. When I see him physically matched, what else is there?”
“Is there enough – after he’s physically matched – to get him a goal?”
Allow me a moment of shamelessness to throw in the views of former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott as well. Lescott noted, “You don’t get away with that in the Prem.”
Featured image Gualter Fatia via Getty Images
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