Arsenal have taken a giant leap towards signing Viktor Gyokeres by striking a pivotal ‘agreement’ for the deadly centre-forward, reports claim.
Arsenal are starting to step up their activity in the summer transfer window. They made David Raya’s loan move permanent at the start of the window by paying Brentford £27million for the goalkeeper, before adding another shot-stopper to their ranks in Tommy Setford, who arrived from Ajax.
The Gunners completed their first statement summer capture on Monday night by announcing the arrival of Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori.
Arsenal have paid Bologna £42m for the breakout Euro 2024 star, and he has signed a five-year contract at the Emirates.
Arsenal will not be stopping there, as they are in advanced talks for Real Sociedad ace Mikel Merino after agreeing personal terms with him.
Mikel Arteta’s side will only have to pay £25m for the Spain star and Euro 2024 winner as he has entered the final year of his Sociedad deal.
Arsenal could follow up on the signing of Merino by seriously improving their striker ranks with the capture of Gyokeres, too.
Arsenal were heavily linked with the lethal Sporting CP star earlier this year, though the rumours went cold when he suffered a knee problem.
Arsenal transfers: Viktor Gyokeres terms ‘agreed’
Gyokeres has since returned from the injury, however, and this has seen Arsenal sporting director Edu re-enter the frame.
According to reports in Spain, Arteta has made Gyokeres his top striker target and Arsenal have resultantly initiated contract talks with the player and his agent. Arsenal have made solid progress as they try to engineer a quickfire deal, too.
The reports even claim that Edu has managed to strike a preliminary contract ‘agreement’ with Gyokeres, which now hinges on whether a deal can be forged with Sporting.
The Swedish marksman enjoyed an ‘outstanding’ debut season in Portugal, netting an incredible 43 goals in 50 games, and this has previously seen Sporting value him at £80-100m.
But Sporting chiefs are aware that Gyokeres will become unhappy if they prevent him from achieving a dream move to an elite club.
As such, their demands have now fallen to €80m (£68m), which is a much more reasonable figure and one Arsenal should be able to match this summer.
Arsenal fans would be delighted if their club can snare Gyokeres and Merino in a double swoop worth a total of £93m.
Gyokeres has never played in the Premier League before, though he does have experience in English football, having shone for Coventry City prior to joining Sporting.
The 26-year-old also spent time at Brighton and Swansea City earlier in his career, and these factors mean it will not take him too much time to settle at Arsenal, should this big transfer go ahead.
Arsenal’s prospective moves for Gyokeres and Merino will be aided by player sales. Emile Smith Rowe is poised to sign for Fulham for an initial £27m, which could rise to £34m, while Marseille are determined to snare another Arsenal academy graduate and have come in with a fresh offer.
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