Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres has conveyed Sporting CP his strong desire to join Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to Sport Witness records.
The 27-year-old frontman revealed to sports president Frederico Valandas that he had no intention of returning to Lisbon for pre-season training, but showed serious intentions to leave.
Despite the whispers of interest from Manchester United and Juventus, Gyoker reportedly chose to reduce their progress and focus solely on potential moves to Arsenal.
The Swedish goal machine took the unusual step of calling the president of sports personally to reaffirm their position.
Viktor Gyoker is on Arsenal’s radar
Gyokeres is a sensation in Portugal, finishing the prolific campaign as a sporting amulet, scoring 54 goals in 52 matches last season.
A release clause of 100 million euros (£85 million) could potentially price multiple suitors from the race, according to a report by Sporting. Meanwhile, Gyoker and Arsenal believe that a “gentleman agreement” will allow a fee in the range of 600,000-700,000 euros.
Unless the sport changes their stance, the saga could ripple into summer standoffs, and Gyoker is reportedly ready to refuse training.
For Arsenal, filing this agreement would mark a declaration of intent in their bids for a domestic and European revival. However, we promise that the coming weeks will be even more dramatic as the sharp rating gap and gyoker prepares to escalate the issue.
Mikel Arteta is looking for a new striker this summer
Gunners have been missing prolific goal scorers for a while, and this summer they are ready to deal with that issue in the transfer market.
Seeing his team have lost their Premier League title for the third consecutive season, Arteta is now ready to spend money on a new striker.
The striker will become Gyoker or someone else, but it remains to be seen whether a new attacker is likely to come to the Emirates this summer.
As far as other calls at Arsenal are concerned, the gunners will soon complete the signature of goalkeeper Kepa Alizabaraga from Chelsea.
Source: Arsenal turns attention to the 60 million euro Chelsea star after losing top target