Arsenal have made significant progress in their pursuit of Viktor Gyokeres and fresh talks are scheduled to take place with Sporting CP after the Portuguese cup final in late May, FootballTransfers understands.
The Sweden international has emerged as Arsenal’s priority centre forward target since the appointment of Andrea Berta as the club’s new sporting director and the Gunners are now edging closer to finalising an agreement to sign the 26-year-old.
Arsenal are yet to agree a deal with Sporting, however, and we understand the Portuguese giants are expected to demand a significant chunk of the transfer fee up front, potentially even the full amount.
This may complicate Arsenal’s pursuit, although talks have been scheduled to take place after Sporting CP’s Taca de Portugal final against Benfica on 25 May.
We also understand that Gyokeres is yet to be directly involved in talks with Arsenal, with the Gunners instead negotiating with his representatives up to this point.
Viktor Gyokeres to join Arsenal this summer?
Gyokeres has scored 52 goals and provided 12 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions so far this season, and he is currently leading the race for the European Golden Shoe as a result.
The Sweden star has three years remaining on his current contract with Sporting CP and his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) stands at a career high of €75 million.
Arsenal are also interested in Alexander Isak (Newcastle United), Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig) and Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), but Gyokeres remains the club’s top target ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.
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