Manchester United have been cautioned about a ‘tough negotiation’ for Viktor Gyokeres, a move that could potentially rankle Sir Jim Ratcliffe and play into the hands of another Premier League club.. Gyokeres is said to be eager for a reunion with his former Sporting Clube de Portugal manager Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford. Since his transfer from Coventry City in 2023, the forward has had an exceptional run in Portugal, propelling Sporting to Primeira Liga glory last season and netting 24 goals already this campaign.. It’s thought that Gyokeres is looking to join Amorim at United, possibly in January or next summer. However, United’s top brass have been alerted to expect ‘tough negotiations’ with Sporting by Coventry owner Doug King, who orchestrated Gyokeres’ switch to Sporting just over twelve months ago.. READ MORE: Man United icon Wayne Rooney told to resign after latest ’embarrassing’ defeat. READ MORE: Four Man United stars drop early team news hint before Rubem Amorim call vs Everton. Discussing the complexities of the deal, King disclosed to talkSPORT that if the striker moves on, it would not only profit Coventry but also Brighton, where Gyokeres played for three years, due to a sell-on fee arrangement. “That was a tough negotiation with Sporting Lisbon,” King revealed.. “If he does get moved on to another chapter in his career, then we’ll benefit, but I’m not holding my breath. We’re not running the club on that basis [but] we’ll take it when and if it comes. But realise as well that a large part of anything that comes our way heads down to his original club at Brighton.. “Everybody seems to think it goes straight into the coffers, but these sell-ons accumulate down the chain, so you need to be bringing them up from your academy, hopefully, to get the full 100 per cent, but a lot of it still goes down the chain.”. Given that at least two of Gyokeres’ former clubs are due some of the fee Sporting receive for the Swede, the Portuguese champions will be keen to maximise their profit. It is claimed that Gyokeres has a release clause to the tune of £83million (€100m).. If Sporting do ensure any interested party matches that price tag, it could leave United co-owner Ratcliffe upset. The INEOS billionaire has previously insisted that he will not be forced into over-paying for targets.. United pulled out of a move for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite during the summer over the asking price, signing Leny Yoro from Lille, instead. Answering a question specifically about Kylian Mbappe on the Geraint Thomas Cycling podcast last year, Ratcliffe said: “It’s not where our focus is, the solution isn’t spending a lot of money on a couple of great players.”. “I would rather sign the next Mbappe rather than spend a fortune buying success. It’s not that clever buying Mbappe. Anyone could figure that one out. More challenging is to find the next Mbappe or next Bellingham or next Roy Keane.”. United might therefore have a challenging negotiation ahead as they aim to reduce the fee for Gyokeres.. Try MUFC Pro NOW for free. Subscribe to our brilliant app for the best way to enjoy the M.E.N’s unrivalled Manchester United coverage.. No adverts, pop-ups or distractions – just our brilliant content presented in the best way possible.. Comprehensive, round-the-clock coverage of the Reds, with agenda-setting breaking news and insight from Samuel Luckhurst and our authoritative team of United writers. Exclusive content for subscribers. New interactive elements including (coming soon) quizzes to test your United knowledge.. Try MUFC Pro for a front-row seat to the action at absolutely no cost for the first month. You can get started by downloading our app here on iPhone, or here on Android. If you already have our app, click on the ”MUFC Pro’,’ Subscribe’ or ‘ Remove ads’ links.. *Free trial auto renews at £19.99 annually unless cancelled. T&C’s apply. Ad-free indicates that you will not be shown standard display ad formats with the articles that you read, selected articles may contain commercial messages/affiliate links where contractually required.
