Arsenal are in talks with Sporting over a move for Viktor Gyokeres, with a deal set to be concluded once a payment structure is agreed.
Mikel Arteta wanted a striker in before pre-season properly started, which is one reason for the sudden advancement. Arsenal’s football leadership had been involved in constructive discussion over whether to proceed with Gyokeres or RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins a fallback, and it is understood that the difficulty of doing a deal for Sesko has ultimately swayed the decision.
The prospective signing is the first sign of new sporting director Andrea Berta’s influence, as his preference was for Gyokeres. While the club’s staff generally rated both the Swedish forward and Sesko equally, there were several considerations like age profile – Gyokeres is 27 and Sesko 21 – as well as readiness to immediately fit in, and the context they’ve been scoring goals in.
Arsenal had still been at least €10m away from Leipzig’s valuation on Sesko, with the German club wanting €40m of the release clause up front, and around €40m split over fewer instalments.
A further issue is that Arsenal hadn’t agreed a final package with Sesko’s camp for the player’s terms, with the impasse lasting right up to last week, with Berta specifically feeling Leipzig’s demand was too high a figure. It is understood that Arsenal got increasingly frustrated with the pace of negotiations and with Sesko’s camp, which has been a key factor in the evolution of their striker pursuit.
Arteta, keen to avoid a drawn-out saga, pushed for the club to explore other options more actively.
There had been no such complications with Gyokeres, who has made it clear for months he only wants to join Arsenal. Personal terms are agreed and only final details now need to be settled with Sporting, for a deal that could come to around £60m.
Once a forward is confirmed, Arsenal are still expected to move on to potentially two further players. They have been in talks with Chelsea over Noni Madueke, with The Independent having previously reported that the Stamford Bridge hierarchy want £50m.
Arsenal retain a strong interest in Real Madrid’s Rodrygo and, especially, Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, but there has been no concrete movement on either yet.
Get 4 months free with ExpressVPN
Servers in 105 Countries
Superior Speeds
Works on all your devices
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Get 4 months free with ExpressVPN
Servers in 105 Countries
Superior Speeds
Works on all your devices
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Arsenal are likely to have to sell before bringing in one of the two, with the primary budget having been allocated for a forward and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi. The signing of the Basque midfielder was finally confirmed on Sunday.
