Arsenal have had a slow start to the transfer window but things will heat up soon, with the signing of Riccardo Calafiori set to be finalised imminently.
The Bologna centre-back will be Mikel Arteta’s second signing of the summer after David Raya and reports suggest that the manager’s next priority is a new striker.
Eddie Nketiah looks likely to leave the Emirates this summer amid interest from Marseille. However, contrary to reports, TEAMtalk understands no agreement has been reached with the French club yet.
Premier League clubs are also interested in Nketiah and Arsenal are already planning for his departure, with several exciting striker targets on their shortlist.
One player who has been linked with a move to the Gunners for some time is Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres, who has been simply sensational since leaving Coventry City for Portugal last summer.
The Swedish international has bagged 43 goals in 50 appearances for Sporting and is considered one of the most in-demand strikers in Europe.
Gyokeres has an £86m release clause in his contract and Arsenal want to ease some ‘doubts’ before deciding whether to bid for him, per reports.
Arsenal to assess Gyokeres ‘doubts’ on Saturday
According to Portuguese outlet Correio da Manha, Arsenal will send scouts to watch Gyokeres on Saturday when Sporting face off against Athletic Bilbao in the Cinco Violinos Trophy.
The Gunners have scouted Gyokeres on multiple occassions but it’s claimed the purpose of the trip is to determine whether he still looks effective after his recent knee surgery.
Arsenal allegedly have ‘doubts’ over whether the 26-year-old ‘will be the same’ after the surgery but are poised to make a move if he can convince them otherwise.
If the scouts send a positive report back to Arteta and the Gunners’ sporting director Edu, the North London side are ‘expected to submit an official bid for Gyokeres at the beginning of August.’
TBR Football claim that Sporting would be willing to accept an offer of £60m for Gyokeres.
The Portuguese side signed the Swede for a bargain fee of just £16.8m last summer and therefore a £60m sale would represent a sizeable profit.
Other outlets have claimed, however, that Sporting would only part ways with Gyokeres if someone matches his £86m release clause.
It will be interesting to see how this story develops in the coming days, with the striker reportedly keen to test himself in the Premier League and a number of other clubs sniffing around.
“I love being at Sporting,” Gyokeres said in an interview in May.
“We will see what happens, I can’t promise anything right now”. I’m very happy here at Sporting, I’m under contract but things in football are always happening fast, we need to adapt.”
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