Arsenal on verge of total agreement for Viktor Gyokeres transfer from Sporting CP – The Athletic – The New York Times

EPL
Arsenal and Sporting CP are on the verge of a total agreement for the transfer of Viktor Gyokeres.
A deal worth €63.5million (£54.8m; $74.2m) plus €10m (£8.6m; $11.7m) of future bonuses had already been struck in principle.
But issues remained over the nature and achievability of those contingency payments, which caused a delay in the proposed move being finalised.
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Talks to resolve that are now at an extremely advanced stage, with a conclusion imminent. Only finishing touches and some minor tweaks are required before the switch can be completed.
Gyokeres was focused only on joining Arsenal and, despite late interest from elsewhere, he did not consider any other team.
The 27-year-old Sweden international’s agent also waived his commission to help the switch, while a contract until June 2030 has been prepared.
Frederico Varandas, the president of the Portuguese club, said on July 12 that Gyokeres would be issued a “heavy fine” and told to apologise to his Sporting team-mates after the Swede missed the deadline to report for pre-season training amid Arsenal’s approach.
Gyokeres has been one of Europe’s most in-demand strikers this summer after scoring 54 goals in 52 matches for Sporting last season, and was identified as Arsenal’s preferred centre-forward target. Arsenal were without a recognised No. 9 for much of 2024-25 following injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, as they finished second in the Premier League for a third consecutive campaign, ten points behind champions Liverpool with 17 fewer goals scored.
After leaving Brighton & Hove Albion for around £1m to Coventry City in 2021, Gyokeres emerged a key figure for the Championship side before his £17m move to Sporting in 2023. He recorded 97 goals and 28 assists for the Portuguese club, helping them to consecutive league titles and the Taca de Portugal last season.
Arsenal have been active in their first summer transfer window led by new sporting director Andrea Berta.
Midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard have joined from Real Sociedad and Brentford respectively, while goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and winger Noni Madueke have arrived from Chelsea. Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera is set to join up with his new team-mates in Singapore after finalising his move from Spain.
Gyokeres made his Sweden debut aged 20 and has played 26 games at international level, scoring 15 goals.
Analysis by data writer Thom Harris
There’s quite an obvious appeal to Gyokeres when flicking through the numbers; his 68 league goals since joining Sporting two summers ago is well over double that of any other player in Portugal throughout that time, a brutal finisher, able to generate freakish power on either side.
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But there’s more to the Swede than just lasered shots and penalty-box poaching — Gyokeres is a prodigious runner, direct, explosive, and with the physical capacity to repeat those movements at high intensity.
As we can see from his SkillCorner run profile below — comparing his off-ball work to strikers across Europe’s top seven leagues — he’s often targeting the space in-behind, or pulling wide to run the channels, happy to take a defender out wide before powering inside and getting his shot away.

The Premier League, of course, is a different proposition, and while Gyokeres clearly has the physical capabilities to battle it out with the strongest of centre-backs, he may not be afforded quite as much space to attack for a side such as Arsenal, often pass-heavy and patient in their build-up. He also isn’t prolific in the air, without a single headed goal in league football last season.
But the Swede is a handful, a guaranteed goalscorer, a relentless runner, and a ruthless No. 9 who can turn half-chances into goals. If Premier League teams thought they had figured out Arteta’s Arsenal, this signing would add a new dimension.
(Top image: Pedro Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
David Ornstein joined The Athletic in October 2019 after 12 years as a sports journalist and correspondent at the BBC. In the role of Football Correspondent, he is responsible for producing exclusive and original stories and interviews, offering unique insight and analysis. He works across video, audio and the written word. Follow David on Twitter @David_Ornstein

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