Viktor Gyökeres’ summer transfer has become a soap opera, with the Sporting CP player in the middle of a dispute with his club while Arsenal and Manchester United along with others are still trying to sign him.
Gyökeres has made his transfer decision, and the in-demand striker has decided to move to the Premier League.
Read: Chelsea owner sets world record for club purchases
Sporting CP’s superstar finds himself in a tricky negotiation battle with the Lisbon club over the transfer fee. On the one hand, he believes that the club has gone back on an agreement to sell him for 60 million euros plus 10 million euros in bonuses, while Sporting, on the other hand, is unhappy with the agent’s actions.
If this is resolved, Gyökeres decided on Arsenal, according to TalkSport. The London club are very close to a transfer for Benjamin Sesko and then there cannot possibly be much money left at the Emirates.
“I received a message about 24 hours ago suggesting that Viktor Gyökeres has told friends and family that he expects to join Arsenal,” said chief correspondent Alex Crook.
– “We know that Manchester United are also interested in signing him, of course because of the previous connection with Rúben Amorim. But Arsenal can offer Champions League football and possibly a fight for the title next season.”
The deal is far from done
However, a deal is nowhere near complete. Gyökeres’ problems with Sporting need to be resolved, and Arsenal are also not entirely convinced that the Swedish star is the player they want.
– “Sporting will run a hard line of negotiations. There has been a rift between Gyökeres and the club because his agent claimed they had a gentleman’s agreement that he could leave for £60 million, but now they are demanding close to £80 million,” Crook added.
– “Arsenal are considering both him and Benjamin Šeško. They have also opened talks with Leipzig, but right now Gyökeres seems like the more likely option.”
Juventus willing to sell players to fund transfer
Serie A club Juventus are doing everything they can to get a deal.
According to Corriere dello Sport, the Italian giants are willing to sell a number of players in order to free up funds for a transfer.
Mattia Perin, Lloyd Kelly, Daniele Rugani, Filip Kostić, Samuel Mbangula, Dušan Vlahović and Arkadiusz Milik are all candidates to leave the club in order for Juventus to finance a deal.
With so many pieces that need to fall into place, this is of course not something that will happen immediately.
Negotiations with Sporting collapse
Gyökeres has turned down an opportunity to clear up the situation with Sporting, according to the Record, and now super agent Jorge Mendes has contacted the club in the hope of acting as a mediator to resolve the conflict.
Mendes, who has a wealth of experience and has worked with many of the world’s best players – including Cristiano Ronaldo – has no previous connection to Gyökeres or his agent Hasan Çetinkaya. But his involvement could benefit Manchester United, as he has historically strong connections to the club.
He also has good contacts at Sporting and is trying to help in this difficult situation.
Instagram dude
Amid the conflict with his current club, Gyökeres has given Sporting the ultimate by removing the club from his Instagram bio.
Aftonbladet points out that the Swedish star previously had Sporting in his bio, but that it has now been removed. Portuguese reports claim that this is due to frustration with the club’s attitude.
Read on Popidol: Lamine Yamal dismisses rumors after vacation photos with Instagram model
There is another hint that he will soon be on his way out.
