Manchester United are ready to make their first official offer for Viktor Gyokeres after monitoring the Sporting Lisbon striker.
The summer transfer window was kickstarted with the £62.5m arrival of Matheus Cunha but Ineos have quickly moved onto two other targets.
Manchester United have already bid for Bryan Mbeumo and remain in talks with Brentford to reach an agreement for the 25-year-old. While that is ongoing, the Red Devils are also pursuing Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres is open to joining United this summer, but a deal has become complicated with Gyokeres ready to go on strike against Sporting after they refused to honour their £59m gentleman’s agreement.
With Arsenal also in the race, United are under pressure to make a bid for the Swedish star.
Viktor Gyokeres does his famous celebration for Sporting Lisbon.
Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images
Man United ready to make £60m Viktor Gyokeres bid
On Thursday morning, reports from Portugal claimed United were set to bid on Gyokeres imminently after his fallout with the Sporting president.
Sporting’s president accepted Gyokeres is for sale, but not for the £59m agreement that was supposedly made with his agent last summer.
Now, according to Portuguese outlet Maisfutebol, Arsenal have beaten United to make the first bid for Gyokeres with an opening offer worth less than €60 million (£51m).
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Later in the report, they claim that United are ready to make an official offer of €60 million fixed, with another €10 million for objectives. Overall, that equates to €70 million (£60m).
Both United’s and Arsenal’s bids are said to be below Sporting’s asking price, with the Portuguese club holding out for a package of around €80 million (£69m).
Man United face ‘obstacles’ with Viktor Gyokeres personal terms
While United are in negotiations with Sporting over a fee for Gyokeres, there will also be talks ongoing with the player around his personal demands.
Reports have claimed that Arsenal are willing to pay Gyokeres £192,000 per week to move to North London, meaning United will likely have to match or even improve on that offer to secure the 27-year-old.
The same report as above claims United have “encountered obstacles” when discussing terms with Gyokeres.
READ MORE: Agents set for talks over Manchester United target Viktor Gyokeres, two reasons given in transfer wish
Ineos have been eager to lower United’s wage bill, which includes offloading big earners such as Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho this week.
But with no Champions League football on offer and United in a fairly weak negotiating position, Ineos will have to meet Gyokeres’ wage demands to get a deal over the line.