Viktor Gyokeres' arrival at Arsenal could inadvertently aid Manchester United's chances of landing Sporting and Denmark midfielder Morten Hjulmand amid interest from Juventus
Manchester United’s hopes of landing Morten Hjulmand may have been helped by Viktor Gyokeres’ move to Arsenal. United have been strongly linked with the Swedish striker, who played under Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP, before his transfer to Arsenal.
The Red Devils are keen on another Sporting player, midfielder Hjulmand, who is also wanted by Juventus, according to reports in Italy. However, rather than an outright purchase, the Turin giants are ready to offer Douglas Luiz as part of a swap deal, with Juve paying an additional fee.
However, that plan is complicated by Luiz’s wages, believed to be worth around £4.3million a year, which are well beyond Sporting’s current wage structure. Gazzetta dello Sport reports that will make any potential swap deal virtually impossible to complete.
Having lost Gyokeres, Sporting chief would be loath to lose another of their prized assets. And after agreeing a deal worth up to £64m for Gyokeres, Sporting are under no pressure to sell and can afford to hold out for Hjulmand’s £70million release clause if they wish.
Additional reports in Italy claim Sporting would consider a fee of around £43m, but no lower. Having already splurged £133.5m this summer – and with RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko high on their list of targets – it remains to be seen whether United will land Hjulmand this summer.
However, given Juve’s apparent difficulties in financing a deal, they can afford to bide their time and potentially wait for a future transfer window.
United are looking to offload a number of wantaway stars to help fund the much-needed revamp of Amorim’s squad. However, the head coach has warned that players won't be allowed to leave on the cheap and says they could still have futures at the clubs.
Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia were left out of the tour of the United States and have been training at Carrington instead.
United’s recent transfer dealings have been widely criticised but Amorim said chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Jason Wilcox would not be taken advantage of.
“I know for a fact that these people, Omar and Jason, and the club have a number (price) for these players. If they don’t reach that, they will be Manchester United players, no doubt about that,” said the United boss.
“I understand clubs are maybe waiting for the last minute, but they can have a surprise and I’m ready. I’m ready to receive the players.”