4 days ago
Sweden boss flatly rejects Gyokeres transfer claims amid ongoing Arsenal talks
Viktor Gyokeres has been forced to withdraw from Sweden's squad for this week's international break through injury as speculation mounts over his future at Sporting Lisbon
Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson has denied that Viktor Gyokeres has left the national team squad to avoid injury amid a potential move to Arsenal. Gyokeres is one of the hottest properties on the market this summer.
The striker has scored a ridiculous 97 goals in 102 games across two years with Sporting Lisbon, winning successive Primeira Liga titles. His contract runs until the summer of 2028 but it appears increasingly likely he will leave the Estádio José Alvalade.
Arsenal are among the clubs chasing his signature as they search for a new striker. They have opened talks with the Portuguese giants over a potential deal, though first comes an international break.
Sweden will face Hungary and Algeria in friendlies across the next week, with the Scandanavians not starting their World Cup qualification campaign until September. Even so, the two friendlies are a good chance for Tomasson to assess his squad.
Gyokeres had been included in the original 24-man group for the games in Budapest and Stockholm. But on Tuesday it was announced that the 27-year-old would be leaving the group early.
That sparked rumours that Gyokeres may have pulled out in order to protect himself from picking up an injury which could potentially scupper a big summer move. But that talk has now been rubbished by Tomasson.
"No! He felt a small injury and our medical team was already aware of it and we decided, together, to release him," Tomasson said. "I spoke to Viktor last week. He hasn't trained much in the last few weeks and was feeling some discomfort because of a small injury.
"I was happy to see him and have him with us in this training camp. It says a lot about Viktor, how much he wants to get involved. We're thinking about it [a replacement] and need to talk more about it. In a perfect world, we have all players available."
The Swedish FA released a short statment earlier this week to confirm Gyokeres' exit. It read: "Viktor Gyökeres is not available for the men's national team's friendlies against Hungary and Algeria due to a minor injury.
"The striker will leave the squad after dialogue with the national team's medical team. Gyökeres needs to rehabilitate a minor injury and is therefore not available for the upcoming international matches against Hungary and Algeria.
"In consultation with the medical team, the decision has been made that Viktor will leave the national team. The men's national team will face Hungary on June 6th away and Algeria at Strawberry Arena on June 10th."
The striker provided an update on his future earlier in the week. He insisted that he had not made a decision on his future despite the Gunners having opened talks with Sporting chiefs.
"We will see… nobody knows anything yet," Gyokeres said on the Flymoduspod podcast. "I wish I had a more fun answer, but that's all I can say for now."
