Viktor Gyokeres transfer news: Arsenal in advanced talks to sign Sporting striker | Football News
Arsenal are pushing to sign Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres with talks understood to be at an advanced stage.
There is no club-to-club agreement but there is an apparent willingness from all parties to get a deal done.
Arsenal are thought to be encouraged by the 27-year-old’s desire to join, with personal terms not expected to be a problem.
In a fresh development, Sporting have given Gyokeres permission to delay his return for pre-season.
The Sweden international was due back on Monday – a week after some of his team-mates – but he has now been given until Friday as talks with Arsenal progress.
There is no certainty, however, that he will return at all.
Bringing in a striker has been a primary focus for Arsenal in this transfer window – they have explored conditions for a number of players, including RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
Sky Sports News reported in June that Gyokeres was a Manchester United target after they made an initial approach for him through intermediaries.
Last month, Sporting president Frederico Varandas revealed Gyokeres would not be allowed to leave for £59m (€70m) this summer.
Varandas also disputed the existence of a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Gyokeres’ agent that would allow him to leave for a fixed fee of £50.8m (€60m) plus £8.4m (€10m) in add-ons.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sporting president Frederico Varandas revealed Viktor Gyokeres will not be able to leave for £59m
After joining Sporting from Coventry for around £20m in 2023, Gyokeres has scored 97 goals in 102 matches during his two seasons in Portugal.
Gyokeres scored 54 goals in 52 games in all competitions last campaign, including a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League, as he helped Sporting win the league and the Portuguese Cup.
A move to Arsenal would see Gyokeres return to English football, having joined Brighton in January 2018 before moving to Coventry after loan spells at St Pauli and Swansea.
Gyokeres scored 43 goals for Coventry in his two-and-a-half seasons at the Championship side.
How Gyokeres’ value has soared
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Speaking on the Transfer Talk Podcast, Sam Tighe explains why Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres both present a risk for Arsenal for different reasons
Sky Sports’ Nick Wright:
Sporting are expected to make a huge profit on Gyokeres’ anticipated sale.
The 27-year-old, who joined Coventry on loan from Brighton initially before making the move permanent in 2021, has hit new heights since his switch to Portugal, smashing 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting, including 11 in 17 in European competition.
His remarkable scoring exploits have seen him treble in value to £75m in the space of two years, according to the website Transfermarkt, who valued him at less than £1m when he joined Coventry from Brighton in the summer of 2021.
He has proved a late bloomer, but his rapid rise to prominence in recent seasons has put him on the shortlists of some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.