Viktor Gyokeres has been advised to double-down on the current drama surrounding his future at Sporting and force a move to Manchester United through.
Manchester United’s pursuit of Viktor Gyökeres this summer has been widely reported, with Ruben Amorim said to be eager to add the striker to his squad.
The potential transfer seemed to be going in the right direction when it emerged that Gyokeres was still keen on a move to Old Trafford despite having no European football next season.
But this week, it emerged that Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas has increased the asking price of the player to £67 million, a move that has reportedly left Gyökeres “furious.”
The player is believed to have understood there was a prior ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ allowing him to leave for a package worth €60 million plus €10 million in add-ons—roughly £59 million.
Amid suggestions that Gyökeres is prepared to voice his frustrations publicly, Varandas broke his silence and made it clear that Sporting will not be pressured, stating the club will not tolerate any form of “blackmail” and will reject any £59 million offer, contrary to earlier claims.
Following on from this, there have been suggestions that Sporting will demand the entire £85 million release clause if Gyokeres’ agent activates a certain clause in his contract, which allows him to take 10 per cent of any rejected transfer fee over £51 million for the player.
Gyokeres advised to force United move through
This saga is getting messy and it’s starting to feel like any move is getting difficult for Gyokeres, especially one to the Premier League.
Despite claiming that he would prefer to sign Victor Osimhen, former United defender Rio Ferdinand has offered advice to the Swede and claimed that he must double-down on the drama and force a move.
Ferdinand himself made things difficult for Leeds when his own United move was going through and he has told Gyokeres to follow Varandas everywhere until he honours that initial gentlemen’s agreement.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I’d be in his (Varandas’) office and he wouldn’t be able to leave. I’d be in his bed, in his front room, his kitchen. He wouldn’t be able to get me out of his sight,” Ferdinand told talkSPORT.
“I’d be causing him a nightmare to get out if we had an agreement. I did that at Leeds. I heard Man United were interested in me and I knew Leeds had to let me go.
“I went to Peter Ridsdale and said ‘listen, I know you need to sell me, let’s not haggle over a couple of million here or there. Get a deal done’.
“I was there for hours waiting and he ended up getting the deal done.”
Gyokeres concerns are emerging
It feels like we’ve all been talking a lot about Osimhen’s agents and the potential difficulties of a deal but those same conversations need to be had about Gyokeres.
While the Sporting president has certainly caused a fuss, it doesn’t seem like his agent has been helping things too much and the bizarre clause he has included in the Sporting contract is not a great sign.
Strikers are worth their weight in gold but United cannot afford to make many mistakes in the transfer window going forward.
Any deal for Gyokeres this summer feels like it will depend if that agreement is reinstated. Although, even then, United might need to be careful about a deal and whether there are better alternatives.
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