Viktor Gyokeres has provided a strong indication of the club he wishes to join amid significant transfer interest in the Sporting Lisbon star.
Gyokeres has netted 32 goals across all competitions this season, raising eyebrows when he was benched for Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to previously winless RB Leipzig.
The official explanation was that the 26-year-old was struggling with fitness, resulting in him playing only the final 35 minutes in Leipzig. ..Continue Reading
He managed to score his 32nd goal of the season, but Yussuf Poulsen netted a late winner for the hosts.
Gyokeres has previously stated his intention to complete the season in Lisbon before deciding on his long-term future in the summer.
That future seems increasingly likely to be away from Portugal, given that the 26-year-old is currently one of the best strikers in the world.
He has been linked with moves to Arsenal, Barcelona, and Manchester United – the latter being managed by Gyokeres’ former Sporting boss, Ruben Amorim.
The Sweden international has hinted at the club he would prefer to join.
In an interview with UEFA last month, Gyokeres shared that his inspirations growing up were Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He explained: “The players I looked up to were Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“It’s about how they performed on the pitch. They went the extra mile, which impressed me. I wanted to do similar things on the pitch.”
Both Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo had stints with United during their careers. Ronaldo became one of the world’s top players before transferring to Real Madrid for a record £80 million fee in 2009.
Ibrahimovic joined United on a free transfer in 2016, scoring 28 goals across all competitions in his first full season, which was cut short by a severe knee injury in April.
