Manchester United are reportedly willing to accept that they will not be able to sign Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres during the summer transfer window.
Gyokeres was instantly linked with a move to Old Trafford after Ruben Amorim was appointed the Reds' new head coach in November. The Portuguese and his scouting department had identified the Swede while he was plying his trade at Coventry City in the Championship.
Upon his move to Lisbon, Gyokeres continued his startling goalscoring form and, at the time of writing, he has scored an impressive 77 goals in 85 appearances for the club. After Amorim left, Gyokeres' form has slowed which only increased speculation that he would favour a move to United in the summer.
However, according to The Athletic, there is an acceptance that United are unlikely to sign the forward in the summer. It is reported that Gyokeres is aiming to sign for a Champions League club at the end of the season which the Reds are unlikely to achieve at present.
From United's perspective, they would also be reluctant to pay what Sporting are demanding for Gyokeres considering he turns 27 in June. It has been widely reported that £80m would be enough to activate his release clause at the Portuguese giants.
Ineos are also wanting to purchase players who are young and have significant resale value which is particularly limited with Gyokeres due to his age. MEN Sport understands that United did not purchase a striker on deadline day this month because they wanted to invest that money into a long-term target in the summer.
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