Ruben Amorim appeared to accidentally let slip Viktor Gyokeres’ transfer plans after he destroyed Manchester City in Sporting’s stunning 4-1 win on Tuesday night. The 26-year-old striker scored a hat-trick against the Premier League champions to make Amorim’s Jose Alvalade Stadium farewell memorable.
Phil Foden’s fourth-minute opener preceded Gyokeres’ equalising strike and Maximiliano Araujo’s go-ahead goal before the former added two penalties in a Champions League rout.
The Sweden international’s dominant display intensified speculation about whether he could join Amorim in moving to the Premier League.
Amorim will oversee his final match as Sporting boss at Braga this weekend before starting work at Manchester United on Monday.
The 39-year-old refused to hint at Gyokeres potentially following him through the doors at Old Trafford next summer out of respect for Sporting.
“No, no, no. I cannot be funny with that in this moment,” Amorim told TNT Sports after the final whistle in Lisbon.
“It was tough for me to leave. If I start joking about that with Gyokeres, I’ll have problems. This is my city, this is my country, so I will respect.”
He then seemingly confirmed that Gyokeres planned to move elsewhere next summer before quickly changing the wording of his answer.
Amorim added: “Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then his life is going some… maybe, somewhere else.”
The Sporting boss doubled down on his refusal to pursue Gyokeres before the end of the season in a separate interview.
“I’ve just made peace with the Sporting fans, I’m not even going to make a joke about it,” the Portuguese tactician explained.
“Gyokeres is a Sporting player, which is a great club, he did a lot for it, he was in the second division, he just has to stay and finish the season at Marques.”
Coventry City sold Gyokeres to Sporting for a club-record fee in the summer of 2023, and he has since established himself as one of the world’s most prolific strikers.
The former Swansea City and Brighton and Hove Albion frontman has scored 66 goals and registered 19 assists in 67 appearances for the Lions, including netting 23 times in 17 outings this season.
He has recorded the same goal total as United’s players combined this term, emphasising the attacking improvements Amorim must oversee in Manchester.
Bringing Gyokeres with him to Old Trafford at the end of the campaign would go a long way in supporting that task.
