The cunning swap deal that could see Man Utd beat Arsenal and Chelsea to £63m striker

Manchester United could swoop in and beat the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea to signing Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, who is in demand right now due to his incredible goal-scoring form.

The Sweden international has scored 16 goals in 11 matches this season and has scored 66 goals in 68 games since joining the Portuguese side in 2023. His link to new United manager Ruben Amorim makes him a contender to join his former boss at Old Trafford in January, when his release clause reduces to £63m.

Arsenal have been interested in the 26-year-old since the start of summer but Sporting CP were adamant that buying clubs would have to pay his £87m release clause, which Gyokeres himself admitted in September was the reason why he didn’t leave Portugal in the summer.

Chelsea showed an interest in the Swede during the January transfer window, but they hadn’t made any move for Gyokeres at the time and the Blues stepped up their pursuit of Victor Osimhen over the summer instead - a deal that ultimately failed to materialise.

However, it now looks as though United could be in line to make a move for the Sporting CP man, as according to the Daily Briefing, Ruben Amorim’s side could hand over Joshua Zirkzee as an extra incentive on top of a fee in order to sign Gyokeres, as the Dutchman has not had the best start to life at Old Trafford.

Zirkzee signed for the Red Devils over the summer for a fee of £36.5m and so far this season has scored one goal in 17 appearances - which came in his debut and the first Premier League game of the season, a 1-0 win over Fulham. Since then, the forward has struggled to find consistent game time and looks lacklustre in United’s attack, meaning they could cash in on him sooner rather than later.

Viktor Gyokeres’ connection to Manchester United

The striker has an obvious connection to United as now ex-Sporting CP manager Amorim was recently appointed as Erik Ten Hag’s successor. Amorim has helped Gyokeres to develop into one of the best strikers in Europe as he has become a prolific and dangerous goal scorer.

The 26-year-old has played in England before as he signed for Brighton in 2018 from Sweden before several loan moves which included Swansea City and Coventry City before he signed permanently for the Sky Blues in 2021 for a fee of just £1m. Gyokeres then scored 43 goals in 18 months for Coventry before Sporting CP signed him for £20m.

Due to the impressive development that he experienced under Ruben Amorim, it could tempt the striker to join Manchester United over the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea. However, if short-term success is his goal then moving to one of the London clubs could be the ideal move.

If he was to join Arsenal, Gyokeres would be the undisputed number-one choice up front, as the Gunners need a striker to boost their title hopes over the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. It could be a busy January transfer window for the Swedish international, to say the least.