Zhekereish threatens to strike for transfers, and the Portuguese body says it will still sell for 80 million! Manchester United celebrities advise not to buy it

According to the Portuguese newspaper Record, Swedish centre-forward Djekereish threatened Sporting de Portugal, saying that he could strike in order to secure a successful transfer this summer. However, the Portuguese sports strongly retorted, saying that they did not accept the threat, and even if they refused to train and compete, they would sell at a reasonable price.

The 27-year-old scored 54 goals in 52 games last season and thought he would become a sensation in the transfer market, but no one has cared about it so far. The Swedish striker has been angry at the club's backtracking, saying he reached a gentleman's deal with the hierarchy last summer and should be able to leave the club for a £60 million (€70 million) transfer fee in the summer window. However, now the Portuguese body seems to be asking for 80 million euros.

According to Portuguese media, Dzhecherish felt he had been stabbed in the back, telling the club's new sporting director that he would never play for them again and would not attend pre-season training camps to show his determination to leave. The report also said that he was preparing to shorten his vacation so that he could speak publicly on the matter because he felt he was not being respected.

However, Djekereish has three years left on his contract and his liquidated damages are up to €100 million (£85 million). Therefore, according to the rules, the club has the right to reject offers below this amount. Manchester United and Arsenal in the Premier League, Juventus in Serie A and Riyadh Crescent in the Saudi Arabian Pro League are said to be interested in him at the moment, but the player himself has ruled out the possibility of panning for gold in the Middle East. Speaking about his future recently, Dzhekereish said: "It's football, I'm still here, I don't know what's going to happen, no one can predict the future."

Frédéric Valandas, the new sporting director of Sport, angrily retorted to the report and publicly responded to Dzhekeresh: Threats and intimidation are useless! In a statement, he said: "The Portuguese body will not bow to threats and intimidation, and you should know me better by now. One thing is for sure, we will not accept an offer of a fixed amount of €60 million plus a floating clause of €10 million. And, as of now, the club has not received any offers for Dzhekereish. He's a great professional, but so far no team has made a bid for him. He has three years left on his contract with Portuguese."

The Portuguese giants scoffed at Dzhecherish's threat to strike without receiving any offer, and as for whether they promised to allow him to leave for €70 million last year, Valandas said: "We did reach an agreement that we would not ask for full liquidated damages at the end of the season because he is 27 years old. We know that Victor [Dzhekereish] dreams of joining a big club and can fight for the Champions League, and we have common sense. We assured him that we would not ask for 100 million euros."

He added: "The Portuguese community has common sense and we keep our promises. The chairman of the club said that the full amount of liquidated damages will not be claimed, and that we will adjust the price according to Victor's performance. Victor is the best player in the Portuguese league with 63 goals and 10 assists (including those for the national team). However, now I see his agent making a public announcement that he wants to press the club."

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim is a favourite of Dzhekerish and the pair have enjoyed working together at Sporting de Portugal. However, not everyone is bullish on the Swedish striker, and his problems are that he is older, overpriced and has played for a Premier League team without proving himself in the Premier League. Now there may be a link that could cause turmoil in the dressing room, and Red Devils fans will not forget the feeling when Cristiano Ronaldo bombarded his own team. Djekereish played for Brighton in 2020 and played Manchester United in the Carabao Cup (3-0) but never played in the Premier League.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand discouraged the high price tag for Djekereish: "I don't think he's the right centre-forward. I haven't analysed his play in detail, but I've watched him very, very close about three games. I can't convince me three times and I don't think he can get that opportunity in the Premier League. I see him kicking the ball with his body a lot, what else? Is that enough, and if it were a physical confrontation in the Premier League, would he still be able to score?"

Arsenal appear to share Rio Ferdinand's doubts, and although new director of football Andre Berta admired Dzekereish when he was working at Atletico, they have also turned to RB Leipzig's 22-year-old centre-forward Benjamin Seshko.