Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres' rise to stardom has been ferocious over the past 18 months, making his name on the global stage with his impressive goal-scoring exploits for the Lisbon-based club.
The Swedish striker, ranked at no.7 in FourFourTwo's list of the best strikers in the world right now, was one of Europe's top scorers last season, netting 43 goals across all competitions as Sporting strolled to the Liga Portugal title.
This season has been no different having netted 16 goals in just 11 league games so far, as well as a hattrick in Sporting's famous 4-1 win over Manchester City in the Champions League adding further fuel to the ever-growing excitement that surrounds him.
'He will go' Sporting Director expects Goykeres departure
The 26-year-old's performances have, unsurprisingly, drawn interest from Europe's biggest sides, with speculation ramping up a level once Ruben Amorim's move to Manchester United was announced.
Gyokeres is believed to have a £63 million release clause this summer, according to The Telegraph, £9 million less than the total price United paid for Rasmus Hojlund.
Gyokeres' future was once again thrown into doubt in recent days after Sporting President Frederico Varandas confirmed that the club would not be in a position to stop the striker from leaving if a top club came knocking.
As confirmed by Fabrizio Romano on X, Verandas said: “I can’t promise anything. If a club arrives and pays the release clause, if he wants to go, he will go”.
“But I do not think this will happen in January”, he added.
Sporting are no strangers to big-money departures in recent years, seeing Bruno Fernandes, Nuno Mendes and Manuel Ugarte depart for large sums to other European powerhouses.
Gyokeres would become the club's most expensive departure of all time if his rumoured release clause was met, and he could become the most expensive Swedish player ever, overtaking Alexander Isak and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Manchester United and Chelsea are the two sides most heavily linked with the forward, although other Premier League clubs are likely to circle while Barcelona will be looking to replace an ageing Robert Lewandowski in the coming years.
