Man Utd & Man City eye dream move for £33.9m Ruben Amorim favourite with 27 goal contributions this season

Highly-rated Sporting CP winger Francisco Trincao is expected to be the subject of a transfer tug of war involving Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Manchester City.

CaughtOffside understands that both teams are in the market for the winger this summer as they aim to improve their end product in the final third after failing to achieve their objectives in the Premier League this season.

United’s interest in Trincao is believed to be driven largely from head coach Ruben Amorim, who worked closely with the 25-year-old at Sporting, with the pair both celebrating a league title at the end of last season.

Meanwhile, City, who will be under the stewardship of former Sporting director Hugo Viana when it comes to transfer recruitment, are also expected to enter the race to sign the winger if Pep Guardiola gives the recommendation his seal of approval.

Ruben Amorim plots dream reunion

Francisco Trincao has long been regarded as a top talent in Portuguese football. He came through the academy at Braga in 2018 and a year later became a prominent first team figure under Ruben Amorim, who gave him a starting spot at the Estádio Municipal de Braga.

The pair both moved on an upwards trajectory at around the same time as Amorim earned the job at Sporting and Trincao completed a £26m move to Barcelona.

Trincao played 42 times for Barcelona in his first season but was often limited to appearances from the bench as the Catalan giants slumped to third in the table despite still winning the Copa del Rey.

He spent time on loan at Wolves in the 2021/22 season and made 30 appearances across all competitions, though just 16 were starts as he failed to make a sufficient impact with just two goals.

Amorim is credited with restoring the fortunes of Trincao and getting him back to his best after signing him for Lisbon on a loan deal including an option to buy, which was eventually activated.

Overall, Trincao has scored 32 goals and contributed 32 assists in 151 appearances in the capital while winning the league title in the process. He’s currently enjoying his best season yet to date, with nine goals and 18 assists this term - including 15 in the Portuguese league which is the leading number in the division.

What next for Francisco Trincao?

Francisco Trincao is believed to have a valuation of around 40 million euros (£33.9m), with Ruben Amorim requesting that the United club hierarchy makes a move.

Most of the progress could depend on Marcus Rashford’s potential £40m exit to Aston Villa plus any funds raised by Antony if the Brazilian does decide to depart in the summer after a fruitful loan spell at Real Betis.

Another factor which could help United convince the winger of the project is whether the club manages to secure Champions League qualification by winning the Europa League.

However, City are keeping a close eye on proceedings as they aim to assemble a team that can once again win the league title after falling short in this season’s title race.

Trincao is widely regarded as one of the best players in Portuguese football, and will have ambitions of making the squad for the World Cup in 2026 after failing to make previous squads.

Read More: Man Utd target 'expected to leave' club after just nine months as Ruben Amorim looks to solve problem position