Viktor Gyokeres says he will likely be endlessly thankful to Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim as Arsenal work on completing a deal to sign the Sporting CP striker.
Speculation over the 27-year-old’s future appears to be coming to an end as Arsenal are near agreeing an €80 million (£69m) take care of Sporting price €65m (£56m), plus an extra €15m (£13m) in add-ons.
Arsenal have faced loads of competition for Gyokeres’ signature this summer with Juventus, Chelsea and Manchester United all making an approach for the Sweden international.
United are unable to supply European football to Gyokeres, nevertheless, the prospect of reuniting with Amorim at Old Trafford could have given Arsenal cause for concern.
Gyokeres thrived under Amorim’s guidance in his first season at Sporting and the Swede believes the 40-year-old’s playing style helped his adaptation to life in Portugal.
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‘I got here here, it’s been great since day one, I’ve developed loads here with the team,’ Gyokeres said in an interview with France Football.
‘We have now plenty of amazing memories together as a team, winning two championships in a row, for the primary time in 71 years I believe it’s, it’s an incredible achievement.
‘In fact, Amorim played a giant a part of this because he was the one who really wanted me here and his form of football that we played under him suited me thoroughly, I believe.
‘I can’t thank him enough.’
Amorim guided Sporting to their first league title in 19 years last 12 months and Gyokeres played a serious role within the team’s success with 43 goals in his first season with the Portuguese club.
Sporting then lost Amorim to Manchester United last November however the team went on to win the league and cup double under recent head coach Rui Borges.
Asked if he found Amorim’s departure difficult to take care of, Gyokeres replied: ‘Yeah, in fact, it was a shock to start with.
‘It was in the course of the season, we had games coming up, it had never happened to me before to have a coach leaving in the course of a season when things are going thoroughly, we didn’t lose a single game.
‘Yeah, I used to be surprised but I totally understand his decision, there was no hard feelings in any respect from the team, all of us understood it, we moved on and we managed to win the league anyway.’
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