Chelsea make opening bid to sign Arsenal target Viktor Gyokeres
Chelsea have made an opening bid to sign Arsenal target Viktor Gyokeres, according to today’s edition of Record (page 8).
The Sweden international was impressive in the Championship for Coventry City last term, scoring 22 goals and registering 12 assists from 52 appearances.
The 25-year-old made the switch to Portugal with Sporting last summer, and he has only got better with 20 goals and 10 assists from just 24 outings for them.
It is now reported that Chelsea have proposed to sign Gyokeres for a fixed fee of €80 million with €5m in add-ons (£73m offer), but the proposal has been rejected outright.
Sporting are quite clear that his €100m (£86m) release clause must be triggered. Chelsea are said to be planning another attempt for the striker before the transfer deadline.
Record mention that Arsenal are also interested in Gyokeres, but no bid has been made so far.
Gyokeres recently said that he wants to stay at Sporting this season. If any club triggers his clause, a final decision would depend on the hierarchy at the Lisbon club.
Arsenal should avoid entering Gyokeres pursuit
The 25-year-old has contributed in almost every game for Sporting since his summer switch.
However, we still have doubts whether the striker can succeed in the Premier League. Darwin Nunez made the move to Liverpool from Benfica in 2022, but he has yet to live up to the expectations.
The Uruguay international netted a stunning 34 goals during his final campaign at Benfica, but he has managed only 23 goals from 72 appearances for the current Premier League leaders.
This is a potential warning sign for the Gunners. Instead of entering a bidding battle for Gyokeres, the Gunners may probably wait until the summer to pursue one of their main transfer targets.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney seems the prime option for manager Mikel Arteta while the Gunners can’t be ruled out from making a move for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, who has a €120m (£103m) release clause in his new deal.
If Chelsea were to land Gyokeres from Sporting this month, it would definitely improve the Gunners’ prospects of landing Osimhen from the Serie A holders at the end of the season.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
