Manchester United have confirmed the arrival of Ruben Amorim and some are wondering whether some Sporting stars will follow him.
Manchester United sacked Erik ten Hag last week and already have his replacement signed, sealed and… well, almost delivered.
Ruben Amorim has been appointed as United’s new boss but won’t be leaving Portuguese side Sporting just yet.
Amorim will stay with Sporting until the international break, meaning he has two games left in charge of the Lisbon side.
That starts with a Champions League clash against Manchester City on Tuesday night with United fans no doubt tuning in and hoping for a Sporting win.
Dimitar Berbatov backs Sporting star for Manchester United transfer
Amorim joked about being viewed as the new Sir Alex Ferguson if he beats City, but United fans will also be watching Sporting stars to see if any are good enough to follow Amorim.
Striker Viktor Gyokeres will be the big hope for Sporting and United fans will certainly be interested in how the Swede fares.
Gyokeres has been a goal machine under Amorim, smashing 59 goals in 65 appearances since joining from Coventry City last year.
United hero Dimitar Berbatov has now had his say on Gyokeres whilst speaking on Sky Sports (04/11, 10:30pm).
Berbatov talked up a move for Gyokeres because of his ‘special’ relationship with Amorim, which could be rekindled at Old Trafford.
The Bulgarian noted that Gyokeres could solve United’s ‘embarrassing’ attacking record this season having scores goals ‘for fun’ at Sporting.
“Up front, this guy Viktor Gyokeres, he is scoring goals for fun right now,” said Berbatov.
“I think there is a special connection with the coach, so maybe, maybe, we are probably going to see him in a United shirt.
“From what he’s showing right now, I think yes, because our strikers at the moment are not producing goals. 18th in the league for scoring goals, which is embarrassing for United, so this is a position where I would like to see improvements,” he added when asked if he would be happy with Gyokeres signing.
Gyokeres deal surely unlikely for January
We can understand anybody wanting to see Gyokeres follow Amorim to United.
The Swede is one of the most in-demand strikers in Europe right now and United are struggling for goals; this seems like a marriage made in heaven.
Yet it’s worth remembering that United only invested in Joshua Zirkzee over the summer and splashing cash on another striker so quickly may not be in the Ineos plans.
Amorim has played down a United move for Gyokeres given his huge asking price.
Reports in Portugal even claim that Gyokeres isn’t keen on a move to United, viewing the club as being too chaotic.
We would therefore be surprised to see a January move,
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