Man Utd show their hand in Viktor Gyokeres race despite Ruben Amorim concerns

Manchester United sent one of their best scouts to keep an eye on Viktor Gyokeres during the international break as speculation continues to mount over the striker's future.

The 26-year-old Sporting Lisbon star has a number of suitors among Europe's elite after flourishing in Portugal since moving abroad last summer and is expected to leave for a big-money move at the end of the season.

United have emerged as one of the favorites to sign him after signing Ruben Amorim from Sporting earlier this month. It appears they are ramping up their due diligence ahead of a potential summer surge.

Club scout Sergio Souza was in Stockholm on Saturday evening to carry out a personal check on Gyokeres, who scored in Sweden's 2-1 win over Slovakia, according to The Sun.

But United will not have been the only ones to take charge of the former Coventry City man, who has returned to the spotlight for the Portuguese champions this season after scoring 43 times last season.

Arsenal are also known to be interested in Gyokeres, who is believed to be available for a fee well below his £85.3m release clause. But United's appointment of Amorim could give them an edge if a transfer battle arises.

While the lure of working under Amorim again at Old Trafford could make it difficult for Gyokeres to turn down, Amorim has already hinted that he does not want to damage his relationship with Sporting or the club's fanbase following his departure .

As such, he has vowed that Manchester United will not raid his old club in the January transfer window, but did not rule out any deals in subsequent windows such as next summer.

He said: “I'm not going to sign any players from Sporting in January. Gyokeres costs a hundred million euros and it is very difficult.”

Gyokeres also tried to cool down talk of a move this week, saying there had been contact with his former boss about a future transfer. He explained: “He [Amorim] It probably has some attackers there already, so we'll see.

'No, he hasn't [asked me to join him]. It's fun, but I don't attach any importance to it because it's talk and nothing concrete.”