- Rubén Amorim will take up his position as Manchester United manager on November 11
- The Portuguese has been linked with bringing Sporting Lisbon stars to Old Trafford
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Dimitar Berbatov has picked a Sporting Lisbon star he believes will join Manchester United with Ruben Amorim.
Amorim, 39, was confirmed as United’s new manager last Friday, but will not start work until Monday 11 November.
The Portuguese has made a huge impact with Sporting over the last four and a half years, leading the club to two Primeira Liga titles and two domestic cups.
Amorim will take charge of a United team that has been struggling so far this season, with the Red Devils 13th in the Premier League table and still winless in the Europa League.
The 39-year-old is expected to reshape United’s squad in the coming years and former United star Berbatov highlighted a player he believes Amorim will look to bring with him from Sporting.
Dimitar Berbatov has chosen a Sporting Lisbon star who he believes will join Manchester United
Berbatov said he thought the star would follow Rubén Amorim to Old Trafford
The former United star backed Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres to move to the Premier League
“It’s interesting because this guy, Viktor Gyokeres,” he said in Monday night football.
“Right now he scores goals for fun. So I think there is a special connection with the manager, so maybe we could see him in the United shirt.
“From what he is showing now, I think so (I would like United to sign him).
“Because our forwards at the moment are not scoring or producing goals like we see from Viktor Gyokeres, 16 in the league, which is disgraceful for the stature of a club like United.
“So this is a position where I would like to see improvement.”
Gyokeres, 26, has had an arduous road to the top. The Swedish striker, who has scored 10 goals in 24 caps for his country, made a name for himself at Coventry City after failing to break through at Brighton.
Gyokeres scored 43 goals in 116 games for the Sky Blues, before earning a €24m (£20.15m) move to Sporting in the summer of 2023.
In Lisbon, the 26-year-old has made a notable impact, scoring 63 goals and providing 19 assists in just 66 games.
This includes 20 goals in 16 games this season and Gyokeres has a release clause of €100m (£84m), something that has alerted several top clubs across Europe, including Arsenal.
Speaking last Friday after scoring four goals in Sporting’s 5-1 win against Estrela, Gyokeres was pressed on the matter and refused to rule out a move to the Premier League.
‘Go with Amorim to Man Utd? I don’t know… I’m here,’ he said. ‘As you can see, I enjoy Sporting. It’s nothing I think about. I’m just sad that he (Amorim) is gone. We wish you all the best.
Gyokeres has scored 63 goals and given 19 assists in only 66 games for the Portuguese team
Amorim previously insisted he would not sign any Sporting players in January
“Of course it is not a normal situation, but we won 5-1 and the team reacted very well. We are professionals and we have to continue like this. We are sad that he is leaving, he is a great professional, he was fantastic with us, but we have to adapt .
‘It’s difficult to talk about the future, but I’m sure we will do the same job and continue giving our best. We wish you the best. It’s very good for him.’
Meanwhile, Amorim was also asked if he would look for recruits at Sporting while at United.
“Gyokeres costs 100 million euros and is very difficult,” he said. “I’m not going to receive any Sporting players in January.”
