Truth behind Viktor Gyokeres transfer and why Manchester United move collapsed

Viktor Gyokeres was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United and a potential reunion with Ruben Amorim, but the striker ultimately ended up joining Arsenal

Ruben Amorim and Viktor Gyokeres are set to face off for the first time when Manchester United host Arsenal in their Premier League opener at Old Trafford. Gyokeres spent almost two years playing under Amorim at Sporting, netting 66 goals in 68 games across all competitions.

However, Amorim left Sporting last year to take over at Old Trafford and Arsenal have now forked out around £64million to bring Gyokeres to the Emirates. The Swedish striker had been heavily linked with a potential reunion with Amorim at United, but that did not materialise.

And according to a new report from the Daily Mail, United did not even make an approach for Gyokeres as they believed the 27-year-old had his heart set on a move to Arsenal. The report notes that United did not want to lose another transfer battle after missing out on Liam Delap to Chelsea.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is also said to have been convinced after just one phone call with Gyokeres that the player only wanted to join the Gunners and United ended up spending £74million to bring in Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig instead.

“That is a question for Mikel,” Amorim said when asked about Gyokeres ahead of Sunday’s clash. “Viktor is in a different league, the physicality is different.

READ MORE: Transfer news LIVE: Spurs close in on Eze, Baleba ‘pushing’ for Man Utd, Isak latestREAD MORE: Ruben Amorim outlines problem £74m Benjamin Sesko is already giving him at Man Utd

“In Sporting, they have a very good group of scouting, because we get from that the players that they can buy and then sell to survive. I think he’s a very good player, he’s going to give different characteristics.

“It’s going to be different if we face in the beginning of the game if we face Viktor or Havertz, for example. So, we need to be prepared for that, but it’s not a surprise to watch Viktor in a big club in England.”

Amorim is more focused on his own new-look attack, with Sesko joined by Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. When asked about his potential new front three, Amorim said: “First of all, we have more than three.

“They are fighting for the places. I’m really happy. I think he has great potential. In everything he does. He can play different types of football.

“He’s going to feel that the Premier League is really aggressive, he’s going to learn, but he has a great potential and I can see Ben being a striker for Manchester United for a lot of years. That’s why we paid so much money to have a striker that will have his history in our club.”

Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.