Any player who wants to join Manchester United needs to want to play for the club rather than just wanting a shot at Champions League football, head coach Ruben Amorim insists. Amorim’s comments come as he confirms no talks have been held with Viktor Gyokeres, a player who thrived under him in that particular competition.
United can still qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League, despite being all but guaranteed to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League. They take on Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their semi-final on Thursday night, with the winners of the two-legged tie going on to face either Tottenham Hotspur or Bodo/Glimt in the final.
“I didn’t talk to him, But if a player only wants to come to Manchester United to play Champions League, then he won’t come,” Amorim told reporters when asked about Gyokeres. “We want players who want to represent United, not players who want to play certain competitions.”
The Swedish striker fired Sporting CP to the Primeira Liga title last season, and kept his hot streak going under Amorim before the boss moved to Old Trafford. Six of his 52 club goals this season have come in the Champions League, including a memorable hat-trick against Manchester City in the league phase.
After a slump under Amorim’s successor Joao Pereira, Sporting have rallied under current boss Rui Borges. They are unbeaten in the league since the 43-year-old took over in late December, and sit top of the league with three games left – though one of those is away to second-place Benfica.
United have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Europa League glory. Matthijs de Ligt has travelled to the Basque Country after a month out with a foot injury, while Amad has a chance to feature for the first time since February.
“To start, no. But they can be in the squad for the game and the rest of the players we have a game tomorrow then we have to train here Friday, so we need to prepare and play not just this game, but also prepare the next game against Brentford, so we took a lot of especially young kids to prepare the next game,” Amorim said in his pre-match press conference.
Opponents Athletic have the extra incentive of knowing the final will be played at their home ground of San Mames. Ernesto Valverde’s side will be without injured top scorer Oihan Sancet for the first leg, but Spain star Nico Williams is available and spoke of his team’s motivation.
“It’s going to be a very tight tie,” Williams said on Wednesday. “Tomorrow we expect the fans at San Mames to be behind us from minute one, so we’re sure to have a good start to the game.
“United are a great team, they have great players, like Bruno Fernandes. We’ll have to do our best to get the win. We’re very excited in the dressing room, as is the whole city and the whole Athleticzale family.”
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