Viktor Gyokeres has opened up on the difficulties Sporting CP faced after Ruben Amorim left the club for Manchester United.
Manchester United’s search for a goalscorer has led to speculation regarding Sporting CP talisman Viktor Gyokeres.
Ruben Amorim and Ineos will have lists of targets ahead of the summer transfer window, including primary targets and fallback options.
With Gyokeres emerging as one of the best goalscorers in Europe, scoring 53 goals across all competitions this season, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Sweden international is attracting attention from the biggest clubs in the world.
United are also being linked with a swoop for Premier League duo Liam Delap and Matheus Cunha, which means Amorim could welcome more than one attacking player to his squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The pursuit of top targets has been made more difficult by the fact that United won’t have European football next season, after missing out on a place in the Champions League by losing the Europa League final.
Photo by Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Viktor Gyokeres was saddened by Ruben Amorim’s exit
United target Gyokeres insists there are ‘no hard feelings’ towards Amorim following his mid-season exit from Sporting CP.
Sporting CP have appointed two managers since Amorim’s departure, which suggests they struggled initially, but Gyokeres has still been able to help his team secure back-to-back titles.
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It remains to be seen if the bond between Gyokeres and his ex-boss Amorim will influence the striker’s decision to join United in the summer, but doubts have grown now there won’t be any Champions League football at Old Trafford next season.
In an interview with SIC, as cited by The Mirror, Gyokeres revealed his team’s disappointment following Amorim’s sudden exit.
“Of course, it was something that we, as a group of players, didn’t want. Obviously, like you said, we were flying and winning every game in the league and doing well in the Champions League, too.
“It was a sad moment, but we totally understood his decision and there were no hard feelings. We spoke to him. Everything was very clear and there were no hard feelings.
“It was a difficult moment, but I think we all played a lot of games over a long period and then that kind of thing can happen. We’ve also changed coaches twice, we’ve had three different coaches.
“Then you can change the way you train or the amount of training and of course that can affect the body. Yes, we tried to take the best out of the situation, it was a hard period, but we got through it and still finished top of the league.”
Sporting CP were at their best under Amorim prior to his exit, boasting an unbeaten streak domestically, winning all of their games before he agreed to join United in November.
Gyokeres also explained how the winning mentality set by Amorim led to him feeling invincible as a player.
“I think when you’re in that kind of moment where you keep winning, you go in with the same mentality as every game and you keep doing the same things and with the same rhythm,” he added.
“That’s what we felt when we went into the games. It’s possible to have those kinds of moments, I don’t know if we would have kept the same level throughout the season, because I think it’s very normal in football for there to be stages of the season when you maybe win every game and then there’s a period when it’s tougher.
“Of course, we always have the mentality of wanting to win every game, but as we’ve seen in football, it doesn’t always end that way. I think it’s very difficult to go through an entire season without losing a single game, as you can see in history, I don’t think many teams have done it. It’s one thing to win a lot of games and another thing to go a whole season without losing a game.”
Gyokeres responds to transfer links
Although Gyokeres has been non-committal about his plans for the summer, the Swede has given Sporting CP fans hope that he might remain at the club.
Gyokeres will have no shortage of interest and is likely to move on when the transfer window opens.
The 26-year-old says football is unpredictable and anything could happen in the coming months.
“Hopefully, you can expect that I will keep improving and score goals,” he said.
“In Portugal? Let’s see, it’s the future, and it’s football as well, so you never know what’s going to happen. As you’ve seen this season, you never know what’s going to happen, and it’s the same now. We will see in the future.”