The transfer saga of Viktor Gyokeres to Manchester United is starting to heat up, with several big stories in the past 48 hours.
At the moment, the Swedish striker is making waves in the transfer market.
This summer has been going swimmingly for Manchester United, having completed the signing of Matheus Cunha and also closing in on Bryan Mbeumo, both relatively stress-free transfer pursuits.
However, this was always going to be too good to last, and interest in Viktor Gyokeres has brought the drama that usually comes part and parcel with a United summer transfer window.
After Sporting upped the price tag for the Swede, Gyokeres has been left furious at his club and seeking a way out for a fee of £59m, which had been reported as the gentleman’s agreement he had.
However, Sporting’s president denied the existence of an agreement, insisting that the club would look to receive as much as €80m (£68m) for Gyokeres this summer after his incredible 54-goal season.
Now, the clinical number nine has fired back.
Viktor Gyokeres about to take a shot for Sporting CP.
Photo by Pedro Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Viktor Gyokeres fires back at Sporting CP president
Despite all of the drama surrounding the deal right now, United have not been put off signing Gyokeres and, in fact, have been linked even more strongly since these comments emerged.
Then, on Thursday evening, Gyokeres took to Instagram with a cryptic message on the situation.
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“There is a lot of talks at the moment, most of it is false. I will speak when the time is right.”
This is a message that takes a lot of unpacking, as Gyokeres only denies ‘most’ of the rumours swirling around his situation, leaving interpretation open as to which are accurate.
The denial could be both at the reports linking him with a move away or at him denying what was reported about his anger toward Sporting, or even at the president.
All three are possible, but one thing that is certain is that this saga still has a way to go yet until we find out whether he will be playing at Old Trafford next season.
What is the latest on Manchester United’s pursuit of Gyokeres?
Despite all the drama currently going on, United appear to be proceeding as planned with attempts to sign the European Golden Boot runner-up.
Reports in Portugal have suggested that United will soon make a bid for Gyokeres, after meeting with his agent earlier this week to discuss the terms of a potential deal.
With Sporting no longer willing to accept cut-price offers which were believed to have been in the region of £59m, United are expected to need to offer £68m at least to tempt the Portuguese champions.
This would be a big outlay considering Gyokeres was not Ineos’ first choice, and rather he is at the request of Amorim, who wanted an experienced number nine.
If United want to sign Gyokeres, there will be a lot of work to do in order to reach a place that all parties are happy with. Luckily for Ineos, there is still one month until pre-season.
Time is on United’s side for now.