Arsenal is in closer negotiations to acquire 27-year-old striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting for £70 million.
Talks regarding Gyokeres’ personal terms and the transfer fee with the Lisbon club are progressing quickly, with Arsenal’s Sporting Director, Andrea Berta, spearheading the discussions.
However, no agreement has been finalized yet, and Arsenal is exercising caution until all terms are settled.
Gyokeres has been strongly linked to a move to the Premier League after netting 97 goals in 102 matches over two seasons in Portugal.
The Gunners recently completed the £60 million signing of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad on Sunday.
The pursuit of Gyokeres marks a significant step in Arsenal’s summer transfer strategy, as acquiring a new striker has been the club’s top priority.
It seems that Mikel Arteta is counting on Viktor Gyokeres to make a significant impact next season.
Critics of Arsenal argue that the team’s title challenge faltered last season due to the absence of a top-tier forward.
If Gyokeres joins, Arsenal would be adding a striker with an impressive scoring record in the Portuguese league.
The key question remains how his scoring prowess will translate to the Premier League. If everything goes as planned, we will soon find out.
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Arsenal is eager to stop finishing as runners-up, so Gyokeres’ mission is clear: to lead the Gunners to the title.
Gyokeres began his professional career in 2015 in Sweden with IF Brommapojkarna.
By September 2017, he had attracted the attention of newly promoted Premier League team Brighton and signed a two-year contract, officially joining them the following January.
While still part of Brighton’s youth setup, he made his international debut for Sweden in January 2019 during a loss to Finland, scoring his first international goal just three days later in a 2-2 draw against Iceland.
Despite this, he struggled for playing time at Brighton and was loaned to German second-tier club St Pauli for the 2019-20 season.
At St Pauli, he began to flourish, scoring seven goals in 26 appearances.
A month into the next season, Gyokeres scored his first and only goal for Brighton in a 4-0 League Cup win over Portsmouth.
However, shortly after, he was loaned to Championship side Swansea City, where he made 12 appearances and scored once during his three-month stint in Wales before being recalled by Brighton and loaned to Coventry City in January 2021.
At Coventry, he netted three goals in the latter half of the season, including his first league goal in English football, and made his move permanent that summer at the age of 23.
Over the next two seasons, he became one of the most prolific strikers in the Championship, scoring 43 goals in 116 appearances for Coventry and helping the team reach the FA Cup semi-finals in 2023, where they were defeated by Manchester United on penalties.
