Daily Cannon
·7. November 2024
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·7. November 2024
Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres reacts at the end of the Portuguese league football match between Sporting CP and FC Porto at the Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on August 31, 2024. (Photo by FILIPE AMORIM/AFP via Getty Images)
Viktor Gyokeres is the talk of most of Europe at the moment, following his hat-trick against Manchester City earlier this week.
The striker already had 20 goals in 16 games this season before those three against City, but English fans are always sceptical until they see a player do it against a Premier League club.
Those doubts were duly dismissed on Tuesday, with Gyokeres helping Sporting to a 4-1 win over Pep Guardiola’s side. Arsenal fans will hope it’s not a similar story later this month, when the Gunners travel away to Lisbon.
Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres runs with the ball during the Portuguese league football match between Sporting CP and Rio Ave FC at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on August 9, 2024. (Photo by CARLOS COSTA/AFP via Getty Images)
As for the longer term, the expectation is that one of the big Premier League sides will make a move for Gyokeres in 2025. Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal are among the clubs linked, and Paul Hirst reports for The Times that the striker could be available for just £63m.
Gyokeres is certainly available for €100m (£83m), as that’s the price of his release clause with Sporting. If Arsenal or any other club were willing to pay that amount, only the player himself could stop them from making the signing.
But Sporting could go lower, with the player reportedly having a gentleman’s agreement with his club to leave for a lower fee of around €75-85m (£62.4-70.7m).
Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal during the Portuguese league football match between Sporting CP and Rio Ave FC at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on August 9, 2024. (Photo by CARLOS COSTA/AFP via Getty Images)
Hirst writes that Arsenal looked at Gyokeres last season before deciding against a bid, but you’d imagine they might be rethinking that decision now.
As well as the English clubs, a number of clubs in Saudi Arabia are also monitoring Gyokeres’ situation.