Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim will battle with his close friend Manchester City for the services of Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres, worth £65m. Amorim has made the 26-year-old Swede his number 1 target for next summer, but City's new sporting director Hugo Viana is also hot on the heels of Gyokere.
Viana will take over the champions' transfer business from Txiki Begiristain at the end of the season. He was the mastermind behind Sporting's move when the Portuguese paid Coventry £20million for Gyokeres 18 months ago. The striker, who has also been part of Brighton and Swansea, gave Pep Guardiola an impressive display of his power, scoring a hat-trick as the Portuguese club dismantled Manchester City 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League earlier this month.
Amorim and Viana have a close relationship with the player. Amorim has realized that the side he inherited from Erik ten Hag have trouble converting chances in front of goal, and Gyokeres could turn into United's main striker up front.
United already have Dan Ashworth as sporting director and Jason Wilcox as technical director. Although Amorim has suggested that recruitment should be a collaborative process between him and the management structure, the final decision should come from the Portuguese himself.
Meanwhile, City are also looking to add more firepower in attack despite the presence of two-time Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland. The Blues did not replace World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, who left for Atletico Madrid for £80m in the summer. Gyokeres would need assurances that he will not come to the Etihad as a back-up to Haaland, and if he does not get that assurance, the Swede will be more inclined towards a move to Old Trafford.
