As soon as the dust settles on Ruben Amorim’s imminent Manchester United appointment, questions will start being asked about the type of players he’ll bring to the club.
The earliest chance he’ll get to do so will be in January – only two months after he officially starts taking charge of fixtures. However, permanent acquisitions have been hard to come by for the Red Devils in recent years when navigating the winter market, with Erik ten Hag made to settle for loan signings in the last two years.
We’re yet to witness a January window under INEOS’ ownership, though, as their 27.7 per cent stake in the club wasn’t ratified by the Premier League until February this year, meaning they had little to no say in the goings on the month prior.
Amorim ‘100 per cent’ has to bring Viktor Gyokeres with him to Old Trafford, claims pundit
Despite the arrival of £36.5 million Joshua Zirkzee in July to ease the burden on Rasmus Hojlund, goals have still been incredibly hard to come by for United. That could well change when Amorim implements his desired play style, but a proven forward option certainly wouldn’t go amiss if the funds are available.
As it stands, United have scored the third-fewest goals of any club in the Premier League; their eight contributions are only worsened by Crystal Palace’s six and Southampton’s six.
That’s why Tim Sherwood believes Amorim will be adamant about bringing his trusty talisman over from Sporting Lisbon with him at the earliest opportunity. Viktor Gyokeres, a longstanding Arsenal target, tallied a phenomenal 43 goals and 15 assists in 50 appearances across all competitions last season under the Reds’ new head coach.
He’s picked up where he left off in 2024/2025, too, already boasting 16 goals and four assists in his first 15 appearances of the campaign. It’ll come as no surprise to learn that the 26-year-old was dubbed the ‘Championship’s Erling Haaland’ by Tony Mowbray during his Coventry City tenure, and he’s only lived up the name since swapping England for Portugal.
Reacting to Amorim’s impending Old Trafford move on Sky Sports, Sherwood discussed with the panel: “He needs to then decide, what do I need in January?
“Does he bring in Marcus Edwards with him? That boy is a superstar. He went from Tottenham [Hotspur] to Sporting. Do we bring Gyokeres? He’s absolutely on fire at the moment. I would suggest 100 per cent that boy comes in because they’re [United] starved of centre-forwards.
“They’ve got Hojlund, they’ve got Zirkzee, who’s not a centre-forward anyway, but they’ve got to get him out before they can bring players in, and that’s the problem.”
