Sporting have told Arsenal they want €70m (£60.2m) plus €10m in add-ons for Viktor Gyökeres after rejecting an approach from the London club worth €65m plus €15m. After a standoff that has lasted weeks and driven Gyökeres to distraction, the clubs are in constructive dialogue and close to bringing the saga to an end.
Mikel Arteta has made a new No 9 his priority during a pivotal summer for Arsenal and he has had Gyökeres on his shortlist, together with RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko. If the manager has not had the encouragement he might have wanted over Sesko, the picture has been different and more clear-cut on Gyökeres, with Sporting saying they would sell for €80m – less than the value of his €100m buyout clause – and standing by the position.
Gyökeres, who has scored prolifically for Sporting since his £20.5m move from Coventry in the summer of 2023, has been clear he wants to sign for Arsenal. The 27-year-old’s personal terms have been agreed. They were never likely to be an issue; the obstacle has been an agreement between the clubs.
Arteta wants the deal wrapped quickly, ideally before Arsenal depart for their tour of Asia on Saturday week to play Milan, Newcastle and Tottenham. Gyökeres is scheduled to return to pre-season at Sporting on Friday. It has been reported in Portugal that he is unwilling to turn up, such is his determination to force through the move to Arsenal.
Sporting’s record sale is the deal that took Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United in January 2020; the agreement was €55m plus €25m in add-ons. They have been intent on rivalling that with Gyökeres, who has three years to run on his contract.
The Sweden international has been a sensation at Sporting, scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances. He has helped them to back-to-back league titles and, in this past campaign, to the Portuguese Cup.
Arsenal have signed the goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for £5m from Chelsea and the midfielder Martín Zubimendi for £56m from Real Sociedad. They are close to agreeing a deal worth up to £15m for the Brentford midfielder Christian Nørgaard and are weighing up a move for the Chelsea winger Noni Madueke.
