Ruben Amorim should bring Viktor Gyokeres with him to Manchester United if the striker can be signed for £63million, argues Mark Lawrenson.
The 39-year-old is days away from taking up the reins at Old Trafford, where he’ll become the youngest manager to rule over United – and he has a job on his hands to turn what has so far been a dismal season around.
The Red Devils sit in 13th and looked a shadow of a top-four contending side under the now-departed Erik ten Hag’s tutelage. This is by no fault of tight pockets, either, as new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS spent nearly £200m this summer to no avail.
While Amorim and his three-at-the-back change in tactics will look to rejuvenate the cohort, the Portuguese coach will likely wish to bring in some of his handpicked recruits. If his services can be secured for just over £60m, then Lawrenson feels as though one of those new faces should be Gyokeres'.
“If you were Rúben Amorim, you’d want Viktor Gyokeres to join you at Manchester United because he knows what buttons to press and how to get the best out of him,” Lawrenson, who played over 300 times for Liverpool, told Paddy Power.
“When a manager joins a club from a different country, they tend to bring two or three players with them as it’s familiarity for them. If he’s available and United can get him, then they 100% should – especially if they can get him for £63million, which is the price that is being quoted.”
With 23 goals in all competitions so far this term, Gyokeres has developed from a Championship standout at Coventry City to one of Europe's premier marksmen. A hat-trick against United’s rivals Manchester City in the Champions League this week only bolstered his potential fee, yet clubs can remain confident of negotiating Sporting CP down from the Swede’s €100m (£83m) release clause.
According to The Times, Gyokeres has a gentleman's agreement with his current side, which means he would be available for the aforementioned £63m should he wish to depart the Portuguese capital. Furthermore, it seems that Sporting are preparing for their star striker to depart in the near future, having taken action regarding his sell-on clause earlier this summer.
When signing the 26-year-old from Coventry for £17m last year, a 15 per cent clause was installed that would see the Sky Blues benefit should the striker be sold for a hefty sum. However, as reported by Sport, the Portuguese outfit paid out £1.7m to reduce that percentage down to 10, indicating that perhaps a sale is on the horizon.
Amorim himself was prompted to comment on the potential of Gyokeres joining forces with him at United, but he stayed tight-lipped, and fans will have to wait and see if a bid comes in for the ace in January or beyond.
“If I start joking about this Gyokeres situation I'll get in trouble,” Amorim stated earlier this week. “This is my city, this is my country, so I'll respect it. Viktor has to stay until the end of the season, and then his life will probably go somewhere else.”