Arsenal could face less competition in the race to sign Viktor Gyokeres as several potential suitors are said to be keeping a close eye on alternative striker option.
football.londonunderstands Gyokeres is a player the Gunners were interested in earlier this year ahead of the summer transfer window opening, after monitoring the Sweden international during his debut season at Sporting. He scored 43 goals during that first campaign in Portugal and is on course to eclipse that total, with 24 goals in 20 games in the current campaign.
Numerous Premier League clubs are said to hold an interest in the former Coventry City centre-forward. Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are among those to have been linked in recent months, but another striker is now reportedly attracting attention from them.
The Athletic claims Liam Delap is a potential target for those aforementioned clubs next summer. City only sold the England under-21 international in mid-July, but TBR Football reported last week that they have a buy-back clause to re-sign the player in excess of £30million, at least £10m more than the fee they agreed with Ipswich Town earlier this year, if all the add-ons agreed are achieved.
Chelsea are also reportedly monitoring Delap alongside five to ten other forwards, while United are said to have noted his impact in the Premier League thus far this season. Arsenal, however, are not among the clubs credited with an interest in the striker, even though the outlet acknowledges they want to make attacking additions next year, with the potential for a new centre-forward arriving.
These reports of rivals expanding their list of potential transfer targets would presumably bode well for the Gunners if they decide to pursue Gyokeres. United is the most-discussed future destination for the Sporting striker following the appointment of Ruben Amorim as their head coach.
However, the new man's influence over transfers remains unclear. That is especially the case with their much-changed leadership structure now in place, which was not the case at the start of this season.