Arsenal are reportedly prioritising the signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP but his uncle has leaked the family’s private transfer talks in an interview, spelling bad news for the Gunners
Viktor Gyokeres’ uncle believes the striker will stay at Sporting CP this summer despite being strongly linked with a move to Arsenal. The 26-year-old has become one of the most highly-rated forwards in Europe over the past two seasons, having fired in 96 goals in just 101 appearances since joining the Portuguese side.
Arsenal have tracked the Swede ahead of the summer transfer window as they look to solve their problems up front by bringing in a clinical striker. The Gunners’ newly-appointed sporting director, Andrea Berta, is reportedly a huge admirer of Gyokeres and will look to persuade Mikel Arteta that he is the right man to lead the line at the Emirates Stadium.
Gyokeres demonstrated his phenomenal goal-scoring prowess when he netted in the 2-0 win over Vitoria at the weekend to seal a second successive Liga Portugal title for Sporting. And speaking during an interview on the same day, Gyokeres’ uncle, Chris, dropped a major bombshell about his nephew’s future.
Wearing a Sporting scarf and jersey, he began by saying: “I’m super happy, this is amazing. We were here last year, it’s the same spirit, the same people, the same atmosphere. Absolutely fantastic! Beyond words!”
Chris went on to reveal that his family had already discussed Viktor’s transfer plans when asked if he felt they belonged at Sporting, saying: “Yes, very much… yesterday at dinner we decided that he has to stay.”
And he offered his thoughts in four words when asked whether Gyokeres will stay at the club this summer, replying: “Yes, we think so.”
He added: “We hope so, because watch this, we love it, it’s amazing, the country, the people and Sporting. And the lions, we love them!”
Gyokeres was more coy than his uncle when fielding a question about what the future holds ahead of Sunday’s Taca de Portugal final against bitter rivals Benfica. He told Portuguese TV channel SIC Noticias: “Hopefully you can expect I keep improving and score goals.”
When pressed further on whether he’d be staying put this summer, the ex-Coventry City and Brighton striker added: “We’ll see. It’s the future. Football is like that, you never know what’s going to happen.
“As we saw this season, you never know what’s going to happen. And it’s the same thing now. We’ll see what the future holds.”
It is unclear if Arsenal and Berta have taken any notice of his uncle’s comments or whether Gyokeres’ own stance has shifted towards staying put following his title-clinching heroics.
Portuguese newspaper O Jogo had confidently claimed this week that Gyokeres is all set to join the north London club. The publication ran with a front page headline which translated to: “Swede on his way to Arsenal.”
It went on to say that a £58.9million deal has been struck between the two clubs and all that is left is the agreement of personal terms. However, Arsenal have also been strongly linked to several other forwards, including Benjamin Sesko and Victor Osimhen.