Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal is back on the table. The prolific Swede was heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium after the Premier League season ended.
But talk of the 26-year-old making the move to north London soon went cold, with the Gunners more recently linked with Benjamin Sesko. However, now a move for Sesko is off the table, with the Slovenian putting pen to paper on a new contract with RB Leipzig, Gyokeres rumours have reared their head again.
The Sporting CP striker scored an astonishing 43 goals and provided 15 assists in 50 matches in Portugal this season, making him one of the standout strikers in Europe. Arsenal are not the only club to have looked at him and they will face competition to sign him this summer.
According to reports in Portugal though, the Gunners are “very close” to securing the deal for the Swedish frontman. Leonino report that the deal is “only tied up in financial details”.
But that would seem to be the main sticking point to any deal surely? How can a transfer be “very close” if the financial details of the deal have not been agreed?
Gyokeres is a real talent and will not come cheap. He has a release clause of £86million and Sporting are unwilling to budge on that asking price. Arsenal are reportedly unwilling to meet that valuation, which will lead to an impasse, rather than a breakthrough in talks.
If an agreement cannot be reached over a price, the transfer will not be completed, it’s as simple as that. The ball is very much in Arsenal’s court. Sporting have their price and will stick with it, knowing they will owe Coventry City 10% of any fee received as per the deal that took him to Sporting last summer.
It is the time of the year where the rumour mill goes into overdrive. football.london understands Gyokeres is on the Gunners’ shortlist, but a deal of this magnitude will take time, even though Arsenal will feel it is a transfer they can get done quicker because of the player’s free summer – with Sweden not at Euro 2024 like other transfer targets.
Supporters have got excited by the fact that Leonino do not normally push out random transfer rumours. And a deal may be “very close” if the Gunners have been given an indication by the player’s representatives that he would sign if they come to an agreement with Sporting. But that agreement with Sporting is key and there are 86 million reasons why we will all have to wait.
