Man Utd favorites to sign £80m “monster” who’d dazzle alongside Amad

Manchester United have been really disappointing in front of goal this season. The Red Devils are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the Premier League, and it is not an issue that seems like it will change anytime soon.

Ruben Amorim’s side have scored just 21 goals in 19 top-flight games this term. There are just four teams with fewer, all of whom are 15th or below in the league table. To make matters worse, United have missed 35 big chances.

To help with the issue, the board could splash the cash on a new striker in January.

Man United targeting new striker

The player in question here is Sporting centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres. Naturally, since Amorim made the move from the Portuguese champions to Old Trafford in November, there have been strong rumours of a move for the Swede. Those links have intensified recently.

According to a report from the Daily Star, United ‘will step up their bid’ to sign the centre-forward sooner rather than later. They were originally believed to be waiting until summer to make a move, but the reports suggest the new United manager ‘has told club bosses he cannot wait until the summer’ for the signing. Due to their previous affiliation, it’s believed the English giants are ‘favourites’ to secure his signature.

Indeed, the Sweden international will not be cheap to bring in. The striker has a reported release clause of £80m, and it is ‘understood Sporting president Frederico Varandas would hold United to the full amount’ if he leaves in the January window.

Why Gyokeres would be a good signing

There are few strikers as deadly on the planet as Gyokeres. He had a simply extraordinary year in 2024, scoring 62 goals in all competitions. The majority of those strikes came whilst Amroim was manager, under whom he has an extraordinary record.

In 68 games playing for the Portuguese manager, he scored an incredible 66 goals and grabbed 23 assists. In essence, he was phenomenal under the United boss, and it is not hard to see why he wants to bring him to Old Trafford.

This season has been no different for the formidable centre-forward. So far in 2024/25, he has 27 goals and six assists in 27 appearances in all competitions.

Arguably the forward’s best moment in a Sporting shirt so far was his hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League. He contributed three goals in a 4-1 thrashing of United’s biggest rivals.

That is certainly another reason why he might be an appealing addition to a struggling Red Devils side. He is already well-appreciated by their supporters, with journalist Alex Turk describing the Swede as a “monster”. There are certainly lots of things that make this an attractive signing.

Red Devils fans could be licking their lips at the prospect of seeing Gyokeres take to the field alongside creative winger Amad Diallo. The young Ivorian has made a real impression under Amorim so far and has two goals and five assists in 11 games playing for the Portuguese boss.

Indeed, there has not really been anyone as creative as Amad for United in the Premier League this season. According to FBref, his average of 0.47 assists per 90 minutes is the most amongst his teammates, and he averages 2.05 key passes per game, the third most in the squad.

Sadly, no one is really profiting off the chances that Amad is creating. United still seem to be lacking a true goalscorer, but that is where Gyokeres comes in. Should he make the move to Old Trafford, he could be the man the Red Devils are looking for to put the ball in the back of the net more often.

Many of the chances Amad is creating seem like they are going to waste, but a natural-born goalscorer like Gyokeres could profit off them. It could be a match made in heaven. Although it is an expensive deal to do, it could be necessary to help United score more goals and climb the table.

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