Arsenal finalising deal for striker Viktor Gyokeres
It has been known for some time that Gyokeres features high on Arsenal's list of striker targets, and that sporting director Andrea Berta has been exploring a deal for the Sweden international.
Arsenal have also been strongly considering other options, with RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko chief among them. As of Sunday afternoon, it was not yet certain that Arsenal had dropped their interest in Sesko in favour of Gyokeres.
The advancement of talks with Sporting would strongly suggest, however, that Arsenal are now ready to add Gyokeres to their squad ahead of the start of pre-season later this month.
Reports in Portugal and the 27-year-old's native Sweden have both stated that the deal for Gyokeres to join Arsenal will be worth up to around £69 million.
CNN Portugal has reported that the deal is set to be made up of an initial £56 million with a further £13 million in performance-related add-ons.
As reported by Telegraph Sport in May, Berta is understood to have always favoured a move for Gyokeres, who struck an astonishing 54 goals in 52 matches for his club last season.
The striker's return to pre-season has been delayed, with Sporting knowing that he wants to leave this summer.
Arsenal's pursuit of a striker dates back more than a year, with the club failing in their attempts to sign Sesko last summer and then Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins in the January window.
Gyokeres has experience of English football, having previously represented Brighton, Swansea City and Coventry City. It was at Coventry where he first demonstrated his quality, scoring 21 Championship goals in the 2022-23 campaign to earn the move to Sporting.
Since joining Sporting in 2023 he has scored a remarkable total of 97 goals in 102 matches in all competitions.
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