Viktor Gyokeres’ agent reveals how Manchester City complicated Arsenal transfer | OneFootball

Manchester City appear to have indirectly complicated matters concerning Viktor Gyokeres and his now-completed transfer from Sporting CP to Arsenal.

The Gunners eventually secured their long-term centre-forward target this summer, but not without complications along the way that, according to the player’s agent, were avoidable.

Gyokeres had been the subject of strong Premier League interest even before the end of the 2024/25 season, with his goalscoring exploits and silverware success in Portugal making him one of the most in-demand forwards in European football.

Yet the internal changes at Sporting, triggered in part by Manchester City’s pursuit of a new sporting director following Txiki Begiristain’s exit, altered the dynamics of a transfer that had seemingly already been agreed in principle.

City formally announced Hugo Viana as their new sporting director towards the end of 2024, welcoming the Portuguese official into his new office earlier this year, ending a long-standing recruitment search following the decision from Begiristain to bring a close to a hugely successful stay with the club.

While the move was met with excitement among those familiar with Viana’s structured approach and Sporting’s track record in player development, it has now become clear that his departure from Lisbon created short-term fallout for Sporting’s outgoing deals.

Speaking to Swedish network WTV, as relayed by The Mirror, Jonathan Chalkias – a representative of Viktor Gyokeres – has detailed how City’s appointment of Hugo Viana as their new sporting director caused problems in negotiations for the striker later down the line.

“It was a mess. There was a gentleman’s agreement with the previous sporting director. If Hugo Viana were still at Sporting, the deal would have been done in an hour. Everything was written, we didn’t have time to start a legal battle,” Chalkias revealed.

He continued, “I don’t understand how a player who scored so many goals and won three trophies didn’t deserve more respect. The sacrifices we made were the turning point for the deal to happen.

“They offered Gyokeres to Real Madrid, even made headlines with Man United, but there was a commitment with Arsenal. Viktor always trusted Hasan Cetinkaya’s [agent] project: they agreed to move to a league with less exposure, like the Portuguese, to win titles and return to the Premier League. At the time, there were already seven Premier League clubs interested.”

While Gyokeres’ agent has not criticised Manchester City directly, the anecdote underlines the ripple effect of the Premier League giants’ internal changes this summer.

Hugo Viana’s exit from Sporting was initially framed as an amicable departure, but with claims like these surfacing, questions may arise over the exact timing and impact of the move on other clubs’ transfer activity.

Viana is already playing a central role at Manchester City in succession planning and long-term squad building, having secured a list of six players during the ongoing summer market thus far in a range of positions.

It remains to be seen whether City’s influence behind the scenes will continue to shape continental transfer markets in unintended ways. For Arsenal, securing Gyokeres despite late-stage difficulties represents a major coup, while for City, the Viana era is only just beginning.