Sporting chief drops Viktor Gyokeres transfer hint after Ruben Amorim Man United arrival

Sporting CP president Frederico Vandaras has revealed he doesn't think reported Manchester United target Viktor Gyokeres will leave in January - but has hinted at a possible summer departure.

Gyokeres has been linked with a move away from Sporting following his blistering start to the season. After netting 43 goals in 50 matches during his debut season at the Portuguese side, Gyokeres has bagged a remarkable 23 in 18 this term - a return that included him scoring a hat-trick against Manchester City last Tuesday.

Ruben Amorim's appointment at United has increased speculation that Gyokeres could follow him from Sporting to Old Trafford. However, last week Amorim played down those rumours. "If I start joking about this Gyokeres situation I’ll get in trouble," Amorim told Portuguese outlet A Bola.

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"This is my city, this is my country, so I'll respect it. Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then his life will probably go somewhere else."

And now, Sporting chief Vanadaras, fresh off the back of Amorim's departure, has dropped a huge hint that the Sweden international is going to leave the club at the end of the season.

"I can't promise anything. If a club arrives and pays the release clause, if he (Gyokeres) wants to go, he will go," Varandas said, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano. "But I do not think this will happen in January."

Amorim arrived at Carrington on Monday for his first day at work as the new United head coach. The 39-year-old managed his final game at Sporting - a 4-2 win at Braga - on Sunday and got a private jet to Manchester Airport ahead of starting his tenure during the international break.

That came a matter of hours before United confirmed that Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has taken charge of the last four matches in an interim role, has left the club. "Ruud is, and always will be, a Manchester United legend," the club said in a statement which confirmed Van Nistelrooy's exit.

"We are grateful for his contribution and the way in which he has approached his role throughout his time with the club. He will always be very welcome at Old Trafford."

Amorim's first game in charge of United is a trip to Ipswich on Sunday, November 24. Van Nistelrooy ended his stint as interim head coach with a 3-0 win over Leicester.