Manchester United will “step up their bid” to sign Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres before the end of the January transfer window, according to reports.

Head coach Ruben Amorim is desperate for reinforcements this month and the Daily Star claim that he has made his case for bringing forward the club’s plans to purchase the Swedish international.

It was originally expected that the Red Devils would pursue Gyokeres at the end of the season when he would become available for a lower price.

However, the Daily Star report that Amorim has made it clear that he “cannot wait” until then, considering the club’s dire form in recent weeks.

How much will United have to pay for the striker?

Sporting president Frederico Varandas has stated that he isn’t willing to let Gyokeres leave the Portuguese champions midway through the campaign unless a team pays the player’s release clause.

The buyout fee is €100m (£83m) so that is the figure that United will have to shell out in order to sign the forward.

At the moment, it is not clear how the Manchester club will fund the move as PSR will seriously restrict how much they can pay. It may need the departure of Marcus Rashford and/or other players for the Gyokeres deal to be finalised.

Gyokeres does have other suitors

The 26-year-old has found the back of the net 27 times in only 27 appearances for Sporting this season so it won’t be a surprise that United will have competition for his signature.

Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea are among the teams that have been credited with an interest in Gyokeres over the past few months. The Daily Star say that an approach from United may prompt a “scramble” to secure the striker’s services so there are likely to be plenty more twists and turns in this story.

Find out who is in Manchester United’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here