Ruben Amorim reveals when Viktor Gyokeres will leave Sporting Lisbon as new Man Utd boss drops major transfer update

NEW Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has dropped a major hint about Viktor Gyokeres’ future at Sporting Lisbon.

Reports have suggested that the former Championship star, now one of the most-sought after strikers in Europe, could follow Amorim to Old Trafford.

The Swedish forward, 26, scored a second half hat-trick as Sporting thrashed Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League, as Erling Haaland, who missed a penalty at 3-1, had to settle for second place in the battle of the strikers.

It brings his goal tally to 23 in 17 games for the season and 66 in 67 since arriving in Portugal from Coventry for around £20million last year.

Amorim, 39, is set to bring most of his young coaching staff when he starts life at Carrington on November 11.

But with United in dire need of a 25-plus goalscoring striker, it remains to be seen whether Gyokeres will come along too.

But Amorim has broken his silence on the matter and revealed that he expects Gyokeres to leave Sporting in the near future.

He told Portuguese outlet A Bola: “If I start joking about this Gyokeres situation I’ll get in trouble.

“This is my city, this is my country, so I’ll respect it.

“Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then his life will probably go somewhere else.”

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Though a January move appears to be off the table, Amorim appeared to hint that he could launch a summer move for Gyokeres.

Earlier in the night, United legend Rio Ferdinand tipped Gyokeres to follow Amorim to United.

United don’t want to get into the territory of bringing in a mass influx of players from a new manager’s former club, after the chaos caused by signing six former Ajax players who starred under Erik ten Hag in Holland.

Ferdinand said: “The recruitment teams in all the clubs in the Prem must be scratching their heads about how they let him get away.

“He hasn’t had a conventional route, his route to the top hasn’t been straightforward.

“He has had a journey where he has had to build himself and create what he is now.”

Gyokeres has an £85million release clause in his contract, which expires in June 2028.

But according to Sky Germany, that will be reduced at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

The Sweden international’s market value is steadily increasing, with it thought to be around £70million.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are among the other clubs interested.