Indonesia
South Africa

Viktor Gyokeres talks 'planned amid Chelsea, Arsenal interest'

sportsmole.co.uk, 6 April 2024, 22:15
The agent of Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres is reportedly set to discuss the Sweden international's future with the Portuguese giants amid interest from the Premier League.

The 25-year-old has exceeded expectations since joining Ruben Amorim's side from Coventry City last summer, quickly becoming one of the most feared marksmen in Europe.

Gyokeres joined Sporting on the back of netting 21 Championship goals in 46 matches last season, and he has already struck 22 Primeira Liga goals in just 26 outings in 2023-24, in addition to chalking up nine assists.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion man has also come up with 14 strikes across the Europa League, Taca de Portugal and Allianz Cup, taking his total for Sporting to a phenomenal 36 goals and 15 assists from 41 games in his debut campaign.

One goal clear of Braga's Simon Banza at the top of the Primeira Liga scoring charts, Gyokeres's remarkable feats in Portugal have naturally sparked speculation surrounding a swift return to England, albeit in the top flight this time.

Gyokeres price set amid Arsenal, Chelsea links

According to Fabrizio Romano - via football.london - the player's representative Hasan Cetinkaya, who helped engineer his switch from Coventry to Sporting, is now meeting with the Lions to discuss a possible departure at the end of the season.

Arsenal and Chelsea are both rumoured to be pursuing Gyokeres's services, while Manchester United have also been credited with an interest, but the two London clubs are said to be at the head of the queue.

With the 25-year-old contracted to Amorim's side until 2028, though, he will not be prised away from Lisbon on the cheap and could reportedly command as much as £85.8m to depart after just one season.

Nevertheless, Cetinkaya is apparently hoping to set out the conditions for Gyokeres's prospective exit in the upcoming talks, after which the agent will begin discussing terms with interested parties.

Thanks to Gyokeres's efforts, Sporting are on track to be crowned Primeira Liga champions, sitting four points clear of Benfica with a game in hand thanks to Saturday's 2-1 triumph over their closest challengers.

Have Arsenal already found the answer to their striker conundrum?

Even with Mikel Arteta's Arsenal scoring goals and smashing records for fun in 2024, the red carpet has been rolled out for a marquee number nine to take the Emirates walk in the summer, as the Gunners opted to keep their warchest closed in January.

Following the summer sale of Folarin Balogun, neither Eddie Nketiah nor the injury-plagued Gabriel Jesus have set the world alight for Arsenal, but Arteta's unyielding faith in one formerly ridiculed man is now paying dividends.

Initially brought in to plug the midfield gap left by Granit Xhaka's exit, £65m signing Kai Havertz is now thriving as Arsenal's focal point and bagged his ninth goal of the Premier League season in Saturday's 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

The German displayed exemplary attacking instincts to deceive Lewis Dunk and work a yard of space to receive Jorginho's cutback inside the six-yard box, thus registering his best attacking return in a single Premier League season, after which he also laid on an assist for Leandro Trossard.

Whether Havertz will indeed be Arsenal's long-term attacking solution remains to be seen, but with nine goal contributions from his last seven top-flight contests, Arteta has every reason to persist with the German as his main striker for the time being.

Top News

5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is expected to be without 17-year-old gem Ethan Nwaneri for Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg at home to Newcastle United. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bidding to make North London lightning strike twice in the space of four days, Newcastle United stop over at the Emirates on Tuesday evening to battle Arsenal in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's home Premier League contest with Manchester United is on, with the fixture between the two most successful clubs in English football going ahead as planned at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be aiming to book their spot in the final of the Spanish Super Cup when they tackle Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday night. 5 January 2025 talksport.com Josh Windass could be set to swap Sheffield Wednesday for Santos in a sensational January transfer, talkSPORT understands. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ipswich Town are reportedly on the verge of signing central defender Ben Godfrey on loan from Atalanta BC. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea reportedly remain keen to reach a financial agreement with Torino regarding the sale of Cesare Casadei. 5 January 2025 talksport.com Liverpool's Premier League clash with Manchester United is currently still set to go ahead on Sunday afternoon. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the permanent transfer of Czech Republic goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague in a deal worth a reported £12. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk AC Milan are reportedly considering a loan move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Juventus are reportedly lining up a move for Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Premier League clash with bitter rivals Manchester United, scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Anfield, could allegedly be cancelled due to bad weather, with snow falling overnight in the Liverpool area. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The transfer window is open! Clubs around the UK and Europe have one final chance to strengthen their squads for the second half of the season. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ourense CF vs. Valladolid (Sunday, 11.00am) La Liga's basement side Real Valladolid will be bidding to book their spot in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey when they head to third-tier outfit Ourense CF on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Kasimpasa vs. Gaziantep (Sunday, 10.30am) Kasimpasa will look to add more wins to their current unbeaten run when they host Gaziantep at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadyumu on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santa Clara vs. Farense (Sunday, 3.30pm) High-flying Santa Clara welcome relegation-threatened SC Farense in gameweek 17 of the 2024-25 Primeira Liga season on Sunday at the Estadio de Sao Miguel. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Monza vs. Cagliari (Sunday, 11.30am) After both ended 2024 with four straight Serie A defeats, relegation rivals Monza and Cagliari will vie for victory in their year-opening fixture on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Lens vs. Toulouse (Sunday, 2.00pm) Two sides in the hunt for a place in Europe next season resume their Ligue 1 campaigns on Sunday as Lens host Toulouse at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hibernian vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Rangers will aim to build on their superb 3-0 victory in the Old Firm Derby as they head to Easter Road Stadium on Sunday to face an in-form Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have agreed to recall Stefan Bajcetic from his loan at Red Bull Salzburg and send him back out in January, with Real Betis heavily linked to the midfielder. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Queens Park Rangers will look to claim a second straight victory when they welcome Luton Town to Loftus Road for Monday's Championship clash. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's pursuit of left-back Julio Soler appears to have ended in failure, with Bournemouth reportedly in advanced talks with Argentine club Lanus for his signature this winter. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly tabled an enormous £78m contract to Trent Alexander-Arnold in an attempt to stop the defender joining Real Madrid for free in the summer. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Matheus Cunha is set to sign a new long-term contract at Wolves, talkSPORT understands. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Tottenham and Newcastle kicked off a thrilling day of Premier League action, but Brentford and Bournemouth did their best to steal the headlines. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal are facing another injury scare after Ethan Nwaneri was brought off at half-time against Brighton. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal were pegged back in their quest to catch up with Premier League leaders Liverpool following a 1-1 draw at Brighton. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he was forced to bring Ethan Nwaneri off at half time in their 1-1 Premier League draw with Brighton & Hove Albion due to injury. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could make a statement to the rest of the Premier League should they heavily beat Ruben Amorim's deflated Manchester United side, according to Reds experts David Lynch. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona eased their way into the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey on Saturday evening courtesy of a 4-0 success over fourth-tier outfit Barbastro at Estadio Municipal de Deportes de Barbastro.