Sporting CP star and top Arsenal transfer target, Viktor Gyokeres, has made an intriguing admission to teammates, amid reports that the clubs are advancing in talks over his move to north London.
Portuguese media claim Arsenal have agreed fee to sign Viktor Gyokeres
Over the last seven days, reports in the Portuguese media have boldly claimed that Arsenal are making serious progress in their bid to tempt the 26-year-old back to England.
Following his quite ridiculous haul of 53 goals across 51 appearances in all competitions this season, Gyokeres has emerged as a prime striker target for Arsenal, with sporting director Andrea Berta said to be personally pushing for him.
“Andrea Berta is pushing to sign Viktor Gyökeres for Arsenal,” said Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg a fortnight ago.
“Several talks have already taken place. Alexander Isak remains high on the Gunners’ list, as previously revealed — but he’s very expensive. Manchester United, Chelsea, and Real Madrid are all in the race. No commitments yet. Everything is still open. Bayern are currently out — too expensive. As exclusively revealed in October, Gyökeres can leave Sporting this summer for €60–70 million, due to a verbal agreement between the player and the club.”
Since then, the likes of newspaper O Jogo, sharing information in the last few days, have reported that Gyokeres is “on his way to Arsenal”, with the Gunners and Sporting shaking hands on a £59 million fee.
Last week, fellow Portuguese source A Bola made claims of an Arsenal offer to Gyokeres over personal terms worth £135,000-per-week as well, though reports closer to home have since stated that Berta is actually prepared to hand out a £10 million-per-year salary package (CaughtOffside).
£59 million would be considered one of the bargains of the summer for one of Europe’s most lethal goalscorers in his prime, so it will be intriguing to see if this does in fact come to fruition.
Viktor Gyokeres makes admission amid Arsenal agreement claims
However, according to Sporting midfielder and teammate Pedro Goncalves, the Swede is remaining coy over his future.
Confirming what the striker has told him, Goncalves states that Gyokeres said he’s ‘not a fortune-teller’ when asked if he could stay at Sporting – appearing to commit his future.
“I asked [Gyokeres], and we all asked him. He says he’s not a fortune-teller,” said Goncalves.
“We still have the Portuguese Cup against Benfica to play. I have a very good relationship with him, but I don’t talk about it with him. What I know is because of Fabrizio Romano… I’m sticking with him. I don’t know if he’s going to leave.
“I feel like he’s evolved a lot since he arrived. There are training sessions where it seems like he’s holding back.”
The Scandinavian superstar is making waves abroad, and it appears inevitable that he’s set to leave Sporting. The only question is, who can win the race for him?
Judging by recent reports, Arsenal appear to be firmly in pole position as things stand.