According to a recent rumor from Portugal, Arsenal is in the lead in the fight for Sporting CP’s prolific goal scorer Viktor Gyokeres, and they may soon seal a deal.
He scored 43 goals in 50 games in 2023–24 after leaving Coventry City for Sporting for an estimated £20 million last summer. Since then, he has been scoring goals at will.
Several elite teams, notably Liverpool, have taken notice of Gyokeres’ exploits; yet, Arsenal is still regarded as the front-runner.
According to recent rumors, the Gunners may submit a bid for him as early as this week.
However, considering that Sporting is unwilling to waive the £86 million release clause in the Swedish international’s contract, adding him won’t come cheap.
However, by renegotiating Coventry’s sell-on provision in Gyokeres’ contract, the club has seemingly given a strong indication that they may move the player this summer, according to Portuguese publication Record.
When the striker signed with Sporting, the Sky Blues had a 15% sell-on clause in his contract; however, Ruben Amorim’s group has since lowered it.
According to rumors, the clause has been decreased to 10%, which means that if Gyokeres is sold for £86 million this summer, Coventry will now receive £8.6 million instead of £12.9 million.
Viktor Gyokeres’ proposal is ready for Arsenal.
According to the article, Sporting’s previous deal with Coventry “allowed” them to lessen Gyokeres’ sell-on clause. However, they will now have to pay an extra €3 million (£2.5 million) for that modification.
Sporting will only save a little money by paying that charge in two installments, but the action implies Sporting anticipates Gyokeres leaving this summer.
The 26-year-old is reportedly expected to receive an initial bid from Arsenal of about £60 million, but it’s unlikely that will be sufficient to get him.
Eddie Nketiah has been informed that he is free to sign with any club this summer, so Mikel Arteta is trying to sign a replacement for him.
Nketiah is being pursued by Marseille and a number of other Premier League teams, but none of them have been prepared to meet Arsenal’s asking price.
Additionally, Arteta feels that Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz should have more competition because he doesn’t think they are productive enough to lead his club to the Premier League championship.
Gyokeres has shown he has a good eye for goal, but there is no doubt that the transition from Portuguese football to Premier League English football is significant.
It will be intriguing to see whether Arsenal, as some rumors suggest, makes a first bid for Gyokeres in the upcoming days.