Viktor Gyokeres has reportedly seen his Sporting return delayed as links to Arsenal continue.
Gyokeres was not among the initial batch of Sporting players to report back for pre-season training at the beginning of the month.
Although, his absence was due to being granted extra time off by the club after being away with the Sweden national team at the end of last season.
In fact, a Sporting statement read: “Those who have been away with their respective national teams will report to training at a later date.”
There had been reports that the striker was due to report for pre-season training today, Friday July 11, 2025. However, Portuguese publication, Record, claim that the date has been moved to tomorrow, Saturday July 12, 2025.
This is the same return date as Conrad Harder and Geovany Quenda, who were away with Denmark and Portugal respectively at the Euro U21 tournament this summer.
That said, A Bola are reporting that Gyokeres has no intention of turning up to training on Saturday unless he has a ‘last minute change of heart’ with O Jogo, stating he is not bothered about potential sanctions from Sporting because he’s convinced an agreement will be found with Arsenal.
As revealed by Standard Sport, both clubs had hoped to reach an agreement over a transfer fee before the end of the week.
Negotiations are ongoing, but Standard Sport reported last Sunday that Arsenal’s current proposal of €65million (£56m) plus €15m (£13m) in add-ons was not enough and would need to be increased.
Gyokeres has reportedly already agreed personal terms with Arsenal on a five-year contract, but it remains to be seen whether a fee can be agreed between the clubs before the Gunners fly out to Singapore and Hong Kong for a tour next week.
