Arsenal are reportedly ‘at an advanced stage’ in their bid to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting as the Gunners jump ahead of both Liverpool and Manchester United in the transfer race.
Andrea Berta is set for a busy first summer as Arsenal’s new sporting director amid reports suggesting he has £300m to spend on new signings for Mikel Arteta.
It’s claimed the Italian has already wrapped up a deal for Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi after triggering his £51m release clause, meaning the focus has now turned to a new striker at the Emirates.
Arsenal have struggled to score goals this season with both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus suffering long-term injuries, resulting in Arteta using Mikel Merino as a false nine for the last few months of the campaign.
The Spaniard has impressed out of position, but the Gunners are desperate to bring in a natural goalscorer to help in their push to win the elusive Premier League title next term.
READ MORE: Gyokeres too old, too big, too striker-ish for Arsenal? The nonsense debunked
Recent reports have suggested Berta has been picking between Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, with Arteta supposedly preferring the latter.
But it appears the sporting director has persuaded Arteta that Gyokeres – who’s scored an incredible 95 goals in 100 appearances for Sporting since joining them from Coventry at the start of last season – is the right man for them.
CaughtOffside claim Arsenal ‘are now at an advanced stage of their negotiations for Gyokeres, having offered him a five-year contract worth around £9m a year’, which works out to around £170,000 per week.
The report claims Arsenal ‘lead their Premier League rivals in this transfer battle’ though ‘Man Utd are preparing to also make a bid for Gyokeres, while there have also been contacts with Liverpool as they look for a replacement for Darwin Nunez.’
MORE ARSENAL COVERAGE ON F365…
👉Gyokeres too old, too big, too striker-ish for Arsenal? The nonsense debunked
👉Arsenal ‘told’ top striker target Viktor Gyokeres is ‘all theirs’ on one condition
👉 Arsenal receive ‘major boost’ in pursuit of ex-Man City star who has ‘rejected multiple offers’
Mirror adds that ‘there is already an agreement in place’ between Sporting and Arsenal over a £60m fee for Gyokeres, though that price tag ‘could go higher’ if other clubs enter a bidding war.
Berta is also supposedly looking to further bolster his midfield after the signing of Martin Zubimendi, with **Le 10 Sport claiming he’s plotting a surprise move for Chelsea wondered Andrey Santo**s.
The Brazilian – who’s valued at £21m by Transfermarkt – has spent the last season on loan at Strasbourg, helping Chelsea’s sister club to sixth in Ligue 1, and it’s claimed Berta is ‘hard at work’ to get a deal over the line for the 21-year-old.
They face significant competition for his signature from PSG though, who tried to sign the midfielder when the Blues got him from Vasco da Gama in 2023.