Man Utd get major transfer boost as new Viktor Gyokeres plan comes to light

Manchester United will throw everything at landing Viktor Gyokeres in the summer - and they could end up paying £20million LESS for him than they would have in January.

The Red Devils had a fairly quiet winter transfer window, with a £25million deal for Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu their biggest outlay. They did, though, also consider making a move for Gyokeres early.

The 25-year-old Sweden star was a huge hit under United's current boss, Ruben Amorim, in Portugal. And he's already been identified as the man capable of getting the goals United will need in order to wrestle their way back into contention for the biggest prizes in football.

A January move for Gyokeres would have made sense given United's poor 2024-25 campaign - but they stand to save a huge sum of money by holding fire.

As outlined by The i Paper, it's estimated a fee of £83m would have been needed to prize Gyokeres away from Sporting Lisbon in the January transfer window.

However, United are hopeful that they will be able to land Sporting's star striker for closer to £60m, with the Portuguese champions already resigned to losing Gyokeres, who they snapped up from Coventry City for nothing 18 months ago.

Gyokeres has grown into one of Europe's most prolific strikers since leaving the Championship and currently boasts a remarkable goals-to-game ratio which stands at 77 strikes in just 83 outings.

While Gyokeres already has 22 league goals to his name this term, both of United's senior strikers in Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have struggled to find the back of the net.

Zirkzee, a summer signing from Bologna, has just three league goals to his name, while Hojlund has only scored twice in the league. The fact that Amorim played Kobbie Mainoo - a midfielder by trade - ahead of the duo as a false nine in United's 2-0 loss against Crystal Palace at the weekend speaks volumes.

United have scored just 28 goals in 24 matches in the Premier League this season as Amorim and co attempt to guide the Red Devils to a respectable finish.

Intriguingly, another striker coveted by Manchester United, Harry Kane, has a release clause worth around £54m in his contract which could be triggered next January should United decide to change course for any reason.