Man Utd target 10-goal Serie A hitman: Amorim finds his Gyokeres 2.0

Robin Bairner

• 4 Apr 2025 02:25 CDT
• 13 min read

Analysis

Manchester United’s hunt for a new No.9 has seen them turn to Italy, where the Red Devils are hoping to dig up their own Viktor Gyokeres in the form of Udinese hitman Lorenzo Lucca.

Ruben Amorim’s only previous foray into the transfer market since arriving at the Red Devils saw him land Patrick Dorgu from Lecce. The Denmark international has shown some promise since arriving at Old Trafford, suggesting the Portuguese boss has the capacity to work smoothly with the club’s recruitment team.

Current ETV

Lorenzo Lucca

F (C)

Udinese

Lorenzo Lucca

F (C)

Udinese

€20.5M

ETV Range

€18.5M - €22.6M

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In what has been a miserable season for United, this offers some crumbs of optimism for the months ahead. The head coach has positive past history in this regard, with Gyokeres one of his big success stories at Sporting CP.

Amorim, meanwhile, has admitted the summer promises to be complicated. Sales are required before players are bought, and that means that the Red Devils will more than likely be working in the bargain basement of the transfer market.

Available for just €22 million, according to The Sun, Lucca falls very much into this category. With 10 Serie A goals this season, he has shown that he knows his way to the net. And his fee seems reasonable, too: Lucca’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) is €23.6m.

But can the 24-year-old explode at Old Trafford in the same way that Gyokeres did at Sporting CP under Amorim?

Lorenzo Lucca: Amorim’s next work in progress?

First up, it’s important to point out that the playing styles of the two show significant differences. Lucca is primarily a pressing forward while Gyokeres is more of a mobile striker, meaning that the Italian gets away fewer shots but does do a power of defensive work. Indeed, the Udinese forward has been compared to beanpole striker Peter Crouch due to his size. By contrast, the strengths of the Swede are his mobility and movement.

Lucca is also a better striker at this point of his career than Gyokeres was before he went to work under Amorim at Sporting. Interestingly, though, the Swede absolutely exploded under the Portuguese, according to data analytics company SciSports, and the hope in the United camp will be that Lucca’s game similarly rounds itself.

Lorenzo Lucca vs Viktor Gyokeres: Style Comparison (SciSports)

Lorenzo Lucca vs Viktor Gyokeres: Career Development (SciSports)

Indeed, the Udinese hitman has shown significant progression in his play all season, and this could accelerate under Amorim if he can work as effectively with him as he has did so effectively with the Swede.

On paper, Lucca is not a particularly exciting signing. His goal record is average, his reputation is modest and his transfer fee is mundane. But this is the type of player Amorim has been brought to Old Trafford to get the maximum from. If he can build another player nearly as effective as Gyokeres, Man Utd will do very well out of this deal.