Man Utd-bound Ruben Amorim blurts out Viktor Gyokeres plan after Man City defeat

Ruben Amorim appeared to accidentally blurt out Viktor Gyokeres' transfer plans after destroying 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 the farewell to Amorim's José Alvalade Stadium a memorable one.

Phil Foden's fourth-minute opener preceded Gyokeres' equalizer and Maximiliano Araujo's goal before the former added two penalties in a Champions League rout.

The Swedish international's dominant display has intensified speculation that he could join Amorim to join the Premier League.

Amorim will oversee his final match as Sporting coach at Braga this weekend before starting work at Manchester United on Monday.

The 39-year-old refused to suggest that Gyokeres could follow him to Old Trafford next summer, out of respect for Sporting.

“No, no, no. I can't be funny about it right now,” Amorim told TNT Sports after the final whistle in Lisbon.

“It was hard for me to leave. If I start joking with Gyokeres, I will have problems. It's my city, it's my country, so I will respect it.”

He then seemingly confirmed that Gyokeres was planning to move elsewhere next summer before quickly changing the wording of his response.

Amorim added: “Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then his life goes… maybe somewhere else.”

The Sporting boss redoubled 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 joke about it,” explained the Portuguese tactician.

“Gyokeres is a player from Sporting, which is a big club, he did a lot for that, 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 most prolific strikers in the world.

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 23 goals in 17 outings this season.

He has recorded the same goal tally as all United players combined this season, underlining the offensive improvements Amorim must oversee at Manchester.

Bringing Gyokeres with him to Old Trafford at the end of the campaign would go a long way to supporting that task.