
Viktor Gyokeres' dad 'breaks down in tears' after latest twist in Arsenal move
The Gunners have made the Sweden international their top target to strengthen their front line and have made major progress in efforts to bring him to north London in recent weeks.
Gyokeres is desperate to make the move to north London having refused to return to pre-season training with Sporting CP but a fee with the Portuguese giants has still not been agreed.
While Arsenal have agreed to pay €63.5 million (£54.9m) up front, Sporting are standing firm over add-on payments.
While the clubs do not appear to be far off, A Bola now report 'real pessimism' has emerged over the weekend among those at the centre of negotiations.
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The stalemate has reportedly devastated Gyokeres' family who feel the 26-year-old is doing everything he can to get the move over the line. His father Stefan 'burst into tears' and was left emotionally distraught over the weekend, now believing move will not go through, according to Maisfutebol.
The report concludes the risk of the move falling through completely is now high.
Sporting's demands over add-on fees have been the source of the frustration.
Arsenal have offered a €63.5 million (£54.9m) up front, plus a further €10m (£8.6m) in bonuses.
The Gunners are then proposing €5m (£4.3m) plus a further €5m in add-ons but Sporting are demanding €7.5m (£6.4m) as the first payment.
Arsenal had hoped to reach an agreement before Mikel Arteta's squad leave London for their pre-season tour of Asia on Saturday.
But the squad set off without a deal done and the move still in real doubt.
Last weekend, Spring president Frederico Varandas issued a statement warning Arsenal they will not be strong-armed into a deal.
'If the geniuses who are devising this strategy think this puts pressure on me to facilitate an exit, they are not only completely wrong but are also making the player's exit conditions even more complicated,' Varandas said. More Trending
'No one is above the interests of the club, whoever they are.
'If they don't want to pay for Viktor fair market value, we are perfectly comfortable with this for the next three years [the time left on Gyokeres' contract].
'We are calm about all this. Everything can be resolved with a market closure, a heavy fine, and an apology to the group.'
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Scottish Sun
5 minutes ago
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Scottish Sun
5 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
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