Arsenal are poised to sign a marquee centre-forward during the summer transfer window.
The Gunners scored 69 goals in the recent Premier League campaign. This was 22 fewer than the 2023/24 season when they came on the cusp of winning the title.
Manager Mikel Arteta will want a significant upgrade upfront, and CNN Portugal claim that Viktor Gyokeres’ agent was involved ‘in a meeting’ with Arsenal’s owners.
The player’s representative held talks earlier on Wednesday to ‘expedite a transfer’. The Gunners have always been the preference of the Sporting CP striker.
Arsenal need to end the striker saga soon
Gyokeres had a tremendous 2024/25 campaign with Sporting CP. He registered 54 goals and provided 13 assists from just 52 appearances in all competitions.
The Swede is prepared to pursue a bigger challenge. The striker felt he had a gentleman’s agreement to leave Sporting CP for £51 million plus £8.5m in add-ons.
However, the Primeira Liga champions have apparently backtracked on the promise. They are now holding out for around £68m to part ways with him.
Regardless, Gyokeres would be a superb acquisition for any elite European club. He has been in the form of his life and would be a quality upgrade for the Gunners.
The player’s agent has held talks with Arsenal’s owners today, but the big question is whether the club will prioritise signing him over RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
Sesko has agreed personal terms over a summer transfer, but the Gunners have yet to convince Leipzig to accept a lower package than his £68m buy-out clause.
The London giants are unlikely to pay the fee in a single lumpsum, and a transfer could highly depend on whether the German outfit agree to staggered payments.
In case there is no breakthrough, Arsenal could swoop for Gyokeres with whom they have a verbal agreement in place. Sporting CP are open to sanctioning his sale for less than his £84m release clause (£68m) and could thereby accept a long-term payment plan for him.
In our view, Arsenal must end the striker saga one way or the other. They can’t afford to drag this out for a few more weeks, as they need to reinforce several other positions.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
