Arsenal and Sporting CP close to ‘full agreement’ for Viktor Gyokeres transfer after bitter back and forth: report

Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres is expected to join Arsenal on a five-year contract.

Arsenal have agreed terms with Gyokeres, who has been engaged in a bitter stand-off with his club.

Sporting president Frederico Varandas has been clear that Gyokeres should fulfil his contractual obligations but the player refused to report for pre-season training with the Lisbon club.

Gunners get their man

Gyokeres was apparently attempting to force Sporting’s hand in negotiations with Arsenal, who had been unable to agree on the total transfer fee or the structure of the deal.

Andrea Berta, Arsenal’s sporting director, flew to Portugal last week but returned empty handed despite Gyokeres being ready to sign for the Gunners.

Arsenal will travel to Singapore at the end of this week to prepare for friendly matches against AC Milan and Newcastle United before heading for Hong Kong to play Tottenham Hotspur.

Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport now reports that the two clubs have also come to terms and confirmation of the transfer is imminent.

“Arsenal expect to reach a full agreement with Sporting inside the next 24 hours for the [£63.5 million] signing of Viktor Gyokeres,” writes Mokbel.

“A club-to-club deal for the Sweden forward is now in place with just minor details left to resolve.”

Gyokeres has been in blistering goalscoring form since joining Sporting from Coventry City in the summer of 2023, winning the league title in both of his seasons in Lisbon.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion youngster scored 97 goals in 102 matches in all competitions for Sporting and made himself one of the hottest transfer properties in European football.

The 27-year-old sent out a flare to Real Madrid early in the transfer window but has for most of the summer been involved in two big decisions – firstly, Arsenal’s choice between Gyokeres and RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko and, secondly, Gyokeres potential preference between Arsenal and Manchester United.

But Arsenal emerged as a clear favourite despite Gyokeres starring under United head coach Ruben Amorim at Sporting, and negotiations have been ongoing for some time.

Gyokeres has 45 goals under his belt in all competitions in English football, scoring once each for Brighton and Swansea City, where he played on loan before joining Coventry.

He scored 43 times for the Sky Blues before departing for a reported Sporting transfer record fee of €24 million two years ago.