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Viktor Gyokeres started the summer as probably the most coveted striker in Europe, but his farcical transfer situation is in danger of seeing him stay put at Sporting CP, despite the club having already identified his replacement.
Gyokeres only wants Arsenal, but Arsenal don’t only want Gyokeres
It was well-known in football circles that when clubs came knocking for the prolific striker in the January transfer window, he eventually agreed to stay in Lisbon until the end of the season in return for a gentleman’s agreement with the club president, Federico Varandas. The agreement was that he could leave for €60 million plus €10 million in variables (around £51m+£8m) when the summer window opened.
In fact, it turns out this was more than a gentleman’s agreement. There is a signed contract saying if Sporting turned down any offer meeting that €60mplus €10m, Gyokeres’ agent Hasan Cetinkaya would receive 10% of the figure rejected.
A host of clubs were queueing at the door to snap up the Swede, but the frontrunners were reported to be Arsenal and Manchester United. The Gunners would offer Champions League football, while the Red Devils offered the chance to reunite with his mentor, head coach Ruben Amorim.
Although a couple of reports have claimed the 27 year old has put United at the top of his list, most have insisted he wants Arsenal and only Arsenal.
However, the Gunners have been caught in two minds as to whether to pursue him or another elite striker, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko. One report claimed Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berti is negotiating both deals to find out the final value before cherry picking the player they want.
Initially, Leipzig’s extortionate €80 million price tag for Sesko was enough to tilt the balance in Gyokeres’ favour and the Gunners lodged a €55m plus €10m bid, an offer just below the gentleman’s agreement figure.
That should have been almost that. But Varandas got greedy and decided to renege on the gentleman’s agreement, also demanding €80 million for his prize asset. A row ensued between player and president. Varandas denied the agreement and when Cetinkaya produced the proof, the president threatened that if Cetinkaya exercised his right to the 10% compensation clause, he would ignore the agreement altogether and revert to Gyokeres’ actual release clause of €100 million.
All United could do throughout this is watch and wait. Their budget is likely lower than Arsenal’s and they are likely second choice, so their chances of landing Amorim’s protégé have seemed slim.
Arsenal give up, Gyokeres left in limbo
Against this backdrop, an innocuous short report in today’s Record (paper edition, page 10) makes an extremely bold claim that will throw the whole situation on its head.
Having dedicated one and a half pages to Sporting’s excitement over finding Gyokeres’ replacement, Luis Suarez (not the Luis Suarez, Almeria’s younger and less bitey version), the outlet starts to lament that “for Suarez to arrive, Gyokeres has to leave.” Oh dear, Vik is starting to get in the way now.
Record continues: Arsenal have decided to turn to other targets and as of yesterday have no plans to make a new offer. So now they are negotiating Sesko and have Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa as their alternative.”
This is quite a bombshell from Record, an outlet that is not tier one by any means in terms of reliability but which, it must be said, has been right on the money most of the time in the Gyokeres saga so far.
They continue: “Liverpool and United … are not options for Gyokeres at this time. The same can be said of Milan and Juventus. Vik only wants to play for Arsenal and his dream could be at risk.”
Move on, INEOS
At this stage, if the above is true, then United should give up the chase for the Swede, and perhaps already have done so. Whether they would and could afford the €80 million is one question – unlikely given the lack of player sales so far and impending arrival of Bryan Mbeumo – and whether they will want Arsenal’s leftovers and to be a consolation prize is another.
€80 million makes Gyokeres more expensive than Victor Osimhen at €75m, Jean-Philippe Mateta at around €55m, Jonathan David (a free transfer but with fees around €25m) and possibly Hugo Ekitike (asking price of €100m but reports suggest €60m to €70m could be accepted).
Featured image Michael Campanella via Getty Images
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