Arsenal are in advanced negotiations with Sporting CP over the signing of goal poacher Viktor Gyökeres, as talks have progressed into the final round, Softfootball reports.
The Sweden international, 27, has already agreed to personal terms on a five-year contract and has made it clear he favours a move to the Emirates Stadium this summer. However, according to The Athletic, no agreement has been reached on the transfer fee, and discussions are described as positive and moving in the right direction.
Recall that Softfootball reported Mikel Arteta’s keen interest in seeing Gyokeres’ deal wrapped up swiftly, with the Gunners preparing to resume training ahead of a season where expectations will be high following their second-place Premier League finish in 2024–25.
Gyökeres is coming off a remarkable campaign in Portugal, scoring 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions as Sporting clinched a domestic double, winning both the Liga Portugal and the Taca de Portugal last season.
Arsenal’s interest in the forward dates back several months, as the club’s newly appointed sporting director, Andrea Berta, has been a long-time admirer of Gyökeres.
Since joining Sporting from Coventry City in the summer of 2023, Gyökeres has delivered 97 goals in 102 games, rapidly establishing himself as one of the most in-form strikers in Europe. The striker isn’t strange to the antics of English football, and he rose through Brighton and Hove Albion in 2017 where he made eight appearances and scored once.
Loan spells at St. Pauli and Swansea City followed before a permanent move to Coventry, where he hit 43 goals across two and a half seasons, a form that earned him a switch to Portugal and sparked his rise to international prominence.
As Gyokeres’ deal remains the only chunk on the plate for Arsenal, Softfootball in a previous post highlighted the arrival of Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi to the Emirates.
According to the newly signed player, he has also revealed that he had no second thoughts about joining the Gunners once it became clear he would be leaving Real Sociedad this summer. The signing marks Arsenal’s second major addition of the summer, following the arrival of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has taken the No. 13 shirt and Zubimendi, who has been offered No. 36.
As two critical signings have been made by Arsenal, Gyokeres is the next important thing for the Gunners ahead of pre-season.
