Sporting CP have lost their manager in Ruben Amorim, who has joined Manchester United this month. Striker Viktor Gyokeres has said that he will not be going anywhere until next summer, but there will be a host of top clubs hovering around the Estadio Jose Alvalade for the time being.
Gyokeres, 26, has become one of the most coveted forwards in European football. The Swedish number nine already has 30 goals this season, and is being lined up by a series of top sides next summer. The price tag was thought to be around €60-70m, but it may be that Sporting get the €100m release clause given the degree of interest.
According to Record in Portugal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are amongst the five teams that have requested seats for their scouts to attend their Champions League match with Arsenal this week. They will be joined by Manchester City, Amorim’s Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the stands.
🚨🇸🇪 JUST IN: Atlético Madrid have requested seats for the UCL game this week between Sporting and Arsenal. All eyes are on Viktor Gyökeres.
Manchester City, Barcelona, Bayern and Manchester United have also done the same.@Record_Portugal pic.twitter.com/K4GYCpuXEn
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) November 25, 2024
It looks likely that Barcelona will have to pass on Gyokeres, with limited funds to invest next summer. Similarly, after spending €75m (which could rise to €95m) on Julian Alvarez, it would be a major surprise if Los Rojiblancos forked out for Gyokeres. With Harry Kane at Bayern, and Erling Haaland at City, United may feel themselves uniquely placed to move for him amongst the five mentioned.