Viktor Gyokeres is reportedly prioritising a move to the Premier League at the end of the season, with three teams of interest. Surprisingly, Manchester United are not one of them.
The Sporting CP striker has been linked with a move to Old Trafford ever since Ruben Amorim was appointed as the successor to Erik ten Hag in November. After bagging goals for fun in Portugal - 82 in 90 appearances to be precise - Gyokeres is now expected to move this summer.
Gyokeres has been on the Red Devils' radar since then and the goalscoring problems at Old Trafford have only added fuel to that fire. Rasmus Hojlund has gone three months without scoring and Joshua Zirkzee's debut season in England has been a slow-burner with just six goals scored.
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The likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona have all been linked with the Sweden international. A fee of £60million is believed to be the figure wanted by Sporting but it's becoming more apparent that United will be out of the running.
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, Gyokeres has decided on a move to the Premier League with three specific sides his priority. One of Arsenal, Liverpool or Man City are said to be the 26-year-old's preferred move. All three clubs are on course to qualify for the Champions League, something United can't.
If a move to England doesn't materialise, it's thought one of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid or Barcelona would be his ideal move. Again, they all offer Champions League football and have an advantage to United.
Missing out on a place in Europe's major competition will come with it's punishment for Amorim. The financial benefit of reaching the competition isn't to be sniffed at, ultimately impacting the transfer business.
There's also the factor of the scale of the package you can offer to players. There's a real possibility that United will have nothing to offer to targets in regards to participation in European football. For that, they only have themselves to blame.
After crashing out of the FA Cup this month, the Europa League is the only possible avenue of securing a place in the Champions League. United's 14th-place position in the Premier League - 11 points off Aston Villa in eighth - means only an unlikely end of the season will see them turn their league fortunes around.
The blame could easily fall on to the lap of Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe after they decided to stick with Ten Hag in the summer as much as it could on the players and current coaching staff. The factors are all connected to those at the club and it could prove so costly in the transfer market.
