First club 'drops out of the race' to sign Viktor Gyokeres as Sporting striker's future takes surprise new twist

The first major European club that was interested in Sporting striker Victor Gyokeres have officially pull out of the race.

Gyokeres has emerged as perhaps the most exciting forward talent in Europe this season after a series of impressive performances for current club Sporting CP.

The Swedish attacker has scored 66 goals in 67 games for the Portuguese side and continued his electric form on Tuesday night, scoring a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City.

But now, one massive European side has officially pulled out of the race for Gyokeres for one specific reason.

According to French outlet Le Parisien, French champions Paris Saint-Germain have withdrawn their interest in the 26-year-old having made enquiries for him over the summer.

Through their sporting director Luis Campos, PSG reportedly made several approaches for Gyokeres, seeing him as their offensive priority having lost frontman Kylian Mbappe as a free agent.

However, manager Luis Enrique ultimately decided against the move he believed that the club already had enough forward talent at the club to make up for the loss of such an important player.

With Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani as backup strikers, as well as Marco Asensio, Kang-In Lee and Ousmane Dembele who could be used as false number nines, Enrique felt that Gyokeres was surplus to requirement.

Furthermore, the large fee that a transfer for Gyokeres would undoubtedly demand also put the PSG manager off the move, as the Swede is currently valued at between 75 and 100 million euros.

Victor Gyokeres netted a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday. (Image: Getty)

And according to the report from Le Parisien, this is a price point that is deemed to be too risky for the French club at the moment, likely due to their loss of Mbappe over the summer.

However, following PSG's loss to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night at the Parc des Princes, Enrique suggested that his idea regarding pursuing a new transfer may have changed.

After the 2-1 loss, he said: "Bring me the striker if you have him! Where do I get this striker from? I remain faithful to my ideas. The day I fail in football, it will be with my ideas, not with those of journalists or another coach."