Viktor Gyokeres' Premier League transfer collapsed after agent sacrificed money

Viktor Gyokeres' agent once revealed just how highly he thought of Ruben Amorim, admitting that he turned down lucrative offers from the Premier League so his player could remain with the manager at Sporting CP. Gyokeres signed for the Portuguese giants back in 2023.

Current Manchester United head coach Amorim was still in charge at the time. Under his guidance, the Swedish striker blossomed into a prolific goalscorer, netting 66 times in 68 appearances for Amorim.

Their good relationship, coupled with United's struggles up front, has led to persistent rumours linking Gyokeres with a move to Old Trafford since Amorim took over from Erik ten Hag in November.

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However, as reported by the Manchester Evening News on Monday, United will not be making a bid for Gyokeres this summer, instead focusing on offloading certain players as Arsenal close in on the 27-year-old.

A transfer also seems unlikely from Gyokeres' end, due to his agent Hasan Cetinkaya reportedly being upset by Amorim's handling of Victor Lindelof's exit – another one of his clients.

Portuguese news outlet Record reports that the Turk was disappointed that United did not offer the 31-year-old central defender a new contract this summer after eight years of service, resulting in him leaving as a free agent.

Lindelof featured 18 times for Amorim and is understood to have wanted to remain at the club. Cetinkaya was left even more frustrated given how hard he pushed for Gyokeres to join Amorim’s Sporting project two years ago and stay at the club last summer.

That even involved him turning down offers from Premier League clubs who promised bigger wages, resulting in collapsed deals.

In an interview with Record last summer, prior to Amorim joining United, Cetinkaya praised the manager by saying: “I’m not surprised that Ruben is being linked to Liverpool. It’s normal, his work is of a high level and is what clubs are looking for.

“It will be more difficult for Viktor to stay if Ruben Amorim leaves Sporting, because Viktor came precisely because of Ruben. The day we met, I said to Ruben, ‘Here is my boy, he came to Sporting because of you.’

“Obviously, I will have to talk to the president, the president is the boss, the one who makes the decisions, and we will have to know what he thinks for the future and what Sporting’s project is, but Viktor also has a say, obviously, and if Ruben Amorim leaves, it will be more difficult to continue.”

“I have several top clubs interested in Viktor,” he added. “I can’t, of course, mention names of clubs, but they are top clubs, some from the Premier League, but not only England.

“It is important to emphasise this point: I chose Sporting for Viktor when there were eight other clubs interested. They were paying more and I could have taken him to the Premier League. I chose Sporting because of Ruben Amorim, because he could help Viktor develop, and it changed his career.”

Although he is set to miss out on Gyokeres, Amorim will be delighted to have a new-look forward line at his disposal heading into the new season. United this week completed the signing of Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford for £71million, having already brought in Matheus Cunha for £62.5m earlier this summer.

Meanwhile, Premier League rivals Arsenal have long been closing in on a deal for Gyokeres, which could end up being worth an initial £54.86m (€63.5m) plus around £8.64m (€10m) in add-ons.

It has been widely suggested that the striker only wants to join the Gunners this summer, going as far as to go on strike in order to force through a move to north London. But no full agreement on the proposed transfer has been signed off yet by Sporting.

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