Arsenal have requested a formal meeting with Viktor Gyokeres’ agent ahead of the summer transfer window, according to a report from Portugal.
Portuguese outlet Correio da Manha report (via Sport Witness) that Arsenal are preparing a decisive summer raid for Viktor Gyokeres’ services this summer, aiming to get ahead of competition from Manchester United by requesting a formal meeting with the player’s agent.
Gyokeres’ agent Hasan Cetinkaya is also reportedly a friend of Mikel Arteta, and Arsenal believe their relationship could see them steal an edge on United.
Reports in January suggested that Arsenal had a growing interest in Gyokeres, but that a summer move was always more likely.
The Telegraph claimed Gyokeres would be available for £63m in the summer, but that Sporting would hold to his €100m (£84m) release clause in the January window.
Even if Arsenal really were interested in the striker, a January move would have meant committing an extra £20m plus wages for less than six months of football.
Gyokeres is having a fantastic campaign in Portugal, scoring 40 goals and assisting 10, including six goals in his eight Champions League games.
Though it’s worth mentioning just how many of those goals have been penalties, with Gyokeres converting from the spot 16 times in 2024/25 (15 times for Sporting, once for Sweden). The total is technically 17 if you include his shootout goal in the Portuguese cup final.
Two goals of the 26-year-old’s Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City were penalties, and he failed to score in the competition against Arsenal.
There are regularly questions asked over whether Gyokeres could produce anything like his current form outside of Portugal. Before joining Sporting in 2023, his only 20-goal season was in the Championship with Coventry City.
Even so, it seems inevitable a club will eventually take a chance on the centre-forward replicating his consecutive 40-goal seasons for Sporting somewhere else. Whether or not that club will be Arsenal remains unclear.
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