Viktor Gyokeres has offered to forego a substantial amount of his proposed salary in order to help force through a move from Sporting to Arsenal, according to reports in Portugal.
The Gunners’ pursuit of the Sweden international appears to be coming to a conclusion, with talks at an advanced stage and terms agreed between the Premier League club and the striker.
However, a transfer fee is yet to be agreed with the Portuguese champions, with Sporting holding out for as much money as possible for their star performer.
Portuguese publication Record report that Arsenal’s latest bid for Gyokeres is worth €65m (£56.2m) with another €15m (£13m) in add-ons.
The report also states that Gyokeres is open to giving up €2million (£1.73m) of the contract he has agreed with Arsenal, if it would help force through the move.
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The forward has agreed a five-year contract with the north London club, but is happy to take less money than has been agreed on, such is his desire to make the switch.
Gyokeres has made it entirely clear that he wants to leave Sporting, telling the club that he has played his last game for them and he does not intend to return to pre-season training,
It appears that Gyokeres will get his wish, with Arsenal’s long search for a new striker seemingly at an end.
Reports on Sunday suggested that a deal was very close to being confirmed, with Arsenal’s transfer chief Andrea Berta flying to Lisbon to sign it off.
Signing the Swede will be a significant coup for Arsenal given the level of interest in him from across Europe after his two prolific seasons in Portugal.
Manchester United were keen on reuniting him with his former manager Ruben Amorim, while the likes of Juventus, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid were all linked with a move for the former Coventry City star.
The 27-year-old moved to Sporting from Coventry in 2023 and has been extremely difficult to stop since then.
He scored 43 goals in 50 appearances in his first season with Sporting and then improved on that in his second campaign, netting 54 times in 52 outings.
The seemingly imminent arrival of Gyokeres will follow the signing of Martin Zubimendi, who has arrived at the Emirates from Real Sociedad.
The signing, worth north of £50m, was confirmed on Sunday as Arsenal summer rebuild gathers pace.
Christian Norgaard is expected to arrive from Brentford, while Valencia’s Cristhian Mosquera and Chelsea’s Noni Madueke are subject to interest.
Expert analysis: Viktor Gyokeres
Gyokeres is a bunch of different strikers blended into one. He’s a bulldozer, but he’s also got that turn of pace and knack of finding himself in shooting areas. Some strikers, you can see they overthink things, but he’ll shoot first and ask questions later.
At 6ft 2in, he could definitely add an aerial presence to his game to take himself to the next level, but he’s very good at using his chest as a magnet to win these aerial duels.
He may not be as fearless as others when it comes to aerial duels, but he knows how to use his strengths to his advantage to hold up the ball and bring others into play.
He’s not someone like Roberto Firmino who is going to be dropping deep, so if Arsenal need to change certain things to get the best out of Gyokeres then they should.
Zach Lowy, European football expert
