Ruben Amorim is expected to arrive at Manchester United with his own transfer targets in mind for the coming windows – and one has come in for particularly high praise
Viktor Gyokeres, who is strongly linked with a move to Manchester United, has been hailed as a “better version” of Erling Haaland.
The Swedish striker has been on fire for Sporting CP, having netted 66 goals in 67 games for the club, including a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday. His coach, Ruben Amorim, is set to officially join United next week, and some are tipping him to try and lure Gyokeres to Old Trafford with him.
The former Coventry and Brighton ace, 26, is arguably Europe’s hottest goalscorer at the moment, and former Tottenham and Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart reckons he’s a better player than Haaland, who has posted similarly gobsmacking numbers for City in the last few years.
“It sounds crazy, but I think he is a slightly better version of Haaland,” the Dutchman said on Ziggo Sport ahead of Sporting’s European encounter with City. “Haaland is incredible, of course, but Gyokeres has a bit more.”
Echoing this sentiment, Netherlands legend Marco van Basten also lauded Gyokeres. “He is a ‘true’ footballer,” Van Basten argued. “A real striker. He is strong, scores easily and is calm in front of goal. He can also dribble past the goalkeeper. He is a very good striker.”
Gyokeres has already scored 23 goals in all competitions this season, including 16 in the league and five in Europe. Comparatively, Haaland has just 14 goals to his name, 11 of which have come in the Premier League. Last season told a similar story, with Gyokeres outscoring the Norwegian by bagging 43 goals to Haaland’s 38.
It must be said that the calibre of opponents Haaland is facing each week is higher, but Gyokeres’ frightening numbers are impossible to ignore, particularly with a number of top European clubs sniffing around including Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona and PSG.
United fans will hope Amorim’s arrival will increase their chances of landing the Sweden international in January, though the Portuguese coach poured cold water on the idea earlier this week. “Viktor has to stay until the end of the season, and then his life will probably go somewhere else,” Amorim told reporters.
That said, it’s understood Gyokeres has a gentleman’s agreement with the club that he’ll be allowed to leave if a bid of £63million or higher is tabled for him. Additionally, the goalscorer hinted at a desire to work with Amorim in the future following news of his impending departure.
“We will miss him [Amorim] a lot,” he said, adding: “We’ve done amazing things together. We will miss him and the other guys in the staff who will leave. We have to look forward and attack the next challenge ahead of us.”
