Arsenal and Manchester United transfer blow as Bayern Munich make enquiry for £63m target

Bayern Munich have joined Arsenal and Manchester United in the fiercely contested race to sign Sporting sensation Viktor Gyokeres ahead of the January transfer window.

Gyokeres, 26, has announced himself as one of the most prolific strikers in European football over the last two seasons, scoring 66 goals in 67 games in all competitions for Sporting.

Needless to say, Gyokeres’ goalscoring exploits have caught the attention of a number of teams in the Premier League, with Arsenal, United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all credited with an interest in recent months.

The Sweden international currently has an £83million release clause in his contract in Lisbon, however, recent widespread reports indicate that Sporting could be willing to do business for as little as £63m next summer.

Ruben Amorim’s impending move from Sporting to United has only fuelled speculation that Gyokeres could follow suit with a switch to England, though the forward played down these rumours last week.

‘Going with Amorim to Manchester United? I don’t know,’ Gyokeres told Portuguese media when asked about the possibility of joining Amorim at Old Trafford following his man-of-the-match display against Estrela.

‘I’m here. As you can see, I enjoy it at Sporting. It’s nothing I really think about. I’m sad about him [Amorim] leaving. We wish him all the best.’

Sky Deutschland report that English clubs are not alone in their pursuit of Gyokeres, with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich the latest team to enter the running for the attacker.

It is claimed Bayern have enquired about a possible deal for Gyokeres, though that is as far as their interest has gone, with ‘no further action taken’ at this stage.

According to Florian Plettenberg, ‘nearly all’ of the top sides in Europe and made similar enquiries over the last few weeks, as Gyokeres continues to take the Champions League and Portuguese top flight by storm.

Despite already having a world-class centre-forward in Harry Kane, Plettenberg adds that Bayern intend to ‘closely monitor’ the situation over the course of the season.

Gyokeres’ current deal with Sporting runs through to 2028 but the Primeira Liga leaders are growing increasingly resigned to losing their prized possession at the end of the campaign.

Facing the media after Gyokeres’ stunning hat-trick against Manchester City on Tuesday night, Sporting boss Amorim was asked directly whether he was interested in bringing the Swede with him to United.

‘I’ve just made peace with the Sporting fans, I’m not even going to make a joke about it, Amorim told reporters.

‘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.’

Asked the same question during a separate interview, Amorim replied: ‘No, no, no. I cannot be funny with that in this moment.

‘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, I will respect.

‘Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then his life is going, maybe, somewhere else.’

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