The agent of Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres has admitted it will be “difficult” for the 25-year-old to stay with his current club if manager Ruben Amorim departs this summer.
Amorim is one of the most in-demand managers in Europe and has emerged as a key target for Liverpool, who are hunting for a new boss ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s exit from Anfield at the end of the season.
Should Amorim leave Sporting, then Gyokeres could also look to follow him out the exit door as his agent, Hasan Cetinkaya, admitted the manager was the only reason Gyokeres joined Sporting in the first place.
“I’m not surprised that Ruben is being linked to Liverpool,” Cetinkaya told Record. “It’s normal, his work is of a high level and is what clubs are looking for.
“It will be more difficult for Viktor to stay if Ruben Amorim leaves Sporting, because Viktor came precisely because of Ruben. They day we met, I said to Ruben, ‘Here is my boy, he came to Sporting because of you’.
“Obviously, I will have to talk to the president, the president is the boss, the one who makes the decisions, and we will have to know what he thinks for the future and what Sporting’s project is, but Viktor also has a say, obviously, and if Ruben Amorim leaves, it will be more difficult to continue.”
Arsenal and Chelsea are both admirers of Gyokeres but 90min understands neither club have the striker at the top of their wish list at this point, with Sporting’s firm demand that his £86m release clause be triggered currently putting suitors off.
“It’s a huge amount of money, only available to the biggest clubs, but I have several top clubs interested in Viktor,” Cetinkaya continued. “I can’t, of course, mention names of clubs, but they are top clubs, some from the Premier League, but not only England.
“It is important to emphasise this point: I chose Sporting for Viktor when there were eight other clubs interested. They were paying more and I could have taken him to the Premier League. I chose Sporting because of Ruben Amorim, because he could help Viktor develop, and it changed his career.”
Cetinkaya went on to stress that playing Champions League football may not be the biggest priority for Gyokeres next season.
“Of course, it’s an honour for any player to be able to play in the Champions League, and Viktor is no exception, but there are other important things and Ruben Amorim is one of them. If he leaves, it will be more difficult for Viktor to continue.”
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