“For ONE reason”- Arsenal target Victor Gyokeres sends message to Arsenal owners as they prepare for furious transfer battle
Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres has responded to the speculation surrounding his future as Arsenal, Chelsea and other Premier League sides weigh up moves for the prolific striker.
The 26-year-old has been simply sensational since joining Sporting from Coventry City in 2023, notching 90 goals and 26 assists in just 96 appearances for the Portuguese giants so far.
Gyokeres‘ incredible form has led to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Barcelona making checks on the forward ahead of a potential summer move.
Gyokeres has an £83m release clause in his contract but has struck up a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with Sporting that they would accept a bid in the region of £63m, according to talkSPORT.
And in a recent interview, the goalscorer was asked if he ‘liked’ London – hinting at the links with Arsenal and Chelsea.
“I like Lisbon,” Gyokeres responded with a smile. “I can’t say anything about that,” Gyokeres said when asked to confirm whether that gentlemen’s agreement truly does exist. “No one can predict what will happen, we enjoy the moment.”
Arsenal are set to miss out on the Premier League title again this season and their lack of a prolific striker has been highlighted as the reason for them falling short by many pundits, so it’s no surprise to see Gyokeres on their radar.
Arsenal and Chelsea in talks with Gyokeres camp – sources
TEAMtalk transfer insider Rudy Galetti confirmed in his report on April 14 that Gyokeres remains on their shortlist for the summer.
The Gunners’ dream target is Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, but his reported price tag of £150m makes things extremely difficult for Mikel Arteta’s side. If Newcastle qualify for the Champions League, it will be even more difficult to lure Isak away from St James’ Park.
With this in mind, Arsenal have identified Gyokeres and RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko as alternatives to Isak.
However, we understand that Chelsea are also big admirers of Gyokeres, while Newcastle could move for him if Isak was to leave.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is keen to bring in a new centre-forward this summer to compete with Nicolas Jackson and Gyokeres figures highly on the Blues’ shortlist.
TEAMtalk understands that in their latest talks with Gyokeres’ camp, Chelsea have made it known that they consider a €70-75million (up to £65m / $85m) deal to be fair.
Chelsea have also expressed their interest in fellow striker Victor Osimhen previously, and his release clause at Napoli stands at €75m.
However, Osimhen has dropped down the Blues’ list. On April 4, we revealed that Chelsea had begun to cool their interest in the Nigerian and were starting to shift their focus towards other goalscorers such as Gyokeres.
This has now been confirmed by Chelsea holding fresh discussions for Gyokeres.