'Agreement close' - Sporting CP set to land 27-goal Man Utd striker 'target' Viktor Gyokeres replacement
Man United missed out on Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal who look set to sign the Sporting CP striker.
Arsenal continue to finalise a deal to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP, despite the fact the striker would have had the chance to re-unite with Ruben Amorim if he chose to join Manchester United instead.
A late hijack has been attempted from the Red Devils but with Gyokeres keen on the Gunners, they will have to consider alternative targets instead. Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has emerged as a target, but Villa are reluctant to sell him and have placed a £60 million price tag on him.
As a cheaper alternative, Man United have also been linked with Almeria striker Luis Suarez, who scored 27 goals for the Spanish club in the league last season. The Colombian international has been at Almeria for the past two years, scoring 41 goals in that time.
Sporting set to beat Man United to Suarez
Due to his impressive scoring record in the second tier in Spain, Suarez has attracted a lot of attention from clubs across Europe. The 27-year-old has been linked with Sunderland, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool alongside United, but all those clubs seem to have missed out.
According to Fabrizio Romano on X, talks have accelerated between Sporting and Almeria for the Portuguese club to sign the striker. They need a replacement for Gyokeres, and it seems as though their choice is Suarez.
🚨🟢⚪️ Understand talks between Sporting and Almeria for Luis Suárez have accelerated in the recent hours!
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 20, 2025
Agreement close for the striker to join Sporting with final details to be sorted this week.
Almost there. ⏳🏁 pic.twitter.com/4Dr7WBzfS3
Romano says that an agreement is close for the striker to join Sporting, with final details to be sorted later in the week. After United missed out on Gyokeres, they have also missed out on Suarez.
Amid this news, Man United will have to consider other targets, as yet another striker target goes by. Ruben Amorim will be desperate to sign a number nine to replace Rasmus Hojlund, but his options are certainly faltering the further we go into the transfer window.
Who could Man United sign instead?
Watkins would likely be the first choice for the Red Devils, but they will likely have to consider other options. Having added both Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, United are certainly stronger in attack, meaning they could do with a strong finisher to top off Amorim’s attack.
Fiorentina striker Moise Kean has been strongly linked to Man United in recent weeks, with the Italian international a slightly cheaper option compared to Watkins. He scored 19 goals last season for the Serie A club, making him the second-highest scorer in the league.
Furthermore, Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic is also a potential option with reports suggesting that the Serie A giants could terminate his contract as they want to offload him due to his high wage bill. The Serbian scored 10 goals in 29 league games for Juventus last season.
He is more of a traditional target man, which could fit United better, considering they already have the pacey, skilful attackers in the form of Cunha and Mbeumo. The new pair could do with a tall target man to feed, and Vlahovic would certainly fill that void. He could be signed as a free agent if Juventus do decide to release him.