Jose Mourinho has suggested Viktor Gyokeres could struggle at Arsenal against ‘stronger teams and better players’ after hitting out at the ‘lies’ that surrounded one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer.
The Gunners are finally set to sign the Sweden international having agreed a deal worth €63.5million (£54.8m), plus €10m (£8.6m) in add-ons agreed earlier this month.
The specific structure of those add-ons delayed proceedings but the move is now firmly back on track with confirmation imminent.
Arsenal’s need for a centre forward has been well-documented for a number of seasons with belief a prolific finisher up front can finally get them over the line in the Premier League and Champions League.
Gyokeres arrives with a ruthless record in front of goal having scored 54 goals in 52 appearances last season.
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While rating the Swede as a ‘great player’, former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss Mourinho believes he now faces a much sterner test in the Premier League.
In a wide-ranging interview with Portugal’s Channel 11, Mourinho noted at Sporting, Gyokeres had a team build to play around him under Ruben Amorim and his successor Rui Borges who ‘adapted’ the team to the striker’s needs.
‘He’s a great player. I have no doubt,’ Mourinho said.
‘But Sporting had a way of playing very much around him, very adapted. I don’t know what Hugo Viana and Ruben [Amorim] initially thought; he’s a player with great potential.
‘But in England, he’ll play against stronger teams, better players.
While Gyokeres has only had eyes for Arsenal, the 26-year-old has been strongly linked to a number of clubs. Manchester United have persistently been credited with interest along with Juventus, clubs in Saudi Arabia and even Mourinho’s own Fenerbahce.
A battle between Sporting, Gyokeres and his agent Hasan Cetinkaya was also fought out in the Portuguese media with the club accused of failing to deliver on transfer promises made last year.
The end result was Gyokeres refusing to return for pre-season training with legal action also threatened during the bitter stand-off.
Having watched it unfold from afar, Mourinho hit out a the ‘lies’ that became part of the transfer story, describing it as a ‘war’.
‘Unfortunately, of the 3,400 lies that have been told about the transfer market, one of them is that he’s going to Fenerbahçe,’ Mourinho said.
‘Unfortunately… So many lies, so much interest, so many people working for agents, for clubs… It’s a war that’s not my own.’
