Viktor Gyokeres has been given the chance to earn a whopping €13million (£11m / $15m) per year as Manchester United and Arsenal face new competition for the Sporting CP striker, according to a report.
Gyokeres is arguably the most in-demand striker in the world after another sensational campaign with Sporting in 2024-25. He ended the season with an outstanding 54 goals in 52 appearances, firing Sporting to both the Primeira Liga title and Portuguese Cup.
Gyokeres has loved his time in Lisbon but is keen to move on this summer and test himself out at the very highest level.
A host of clubs have been linked with the Swedish centre-forward, most notably Man Utd and Arsenal.
Ruben Amorim is desperate to reunite with Gyokeres at United, while Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has held talks with both the player’s agent and Sporting.
As per Portuguese newspaper Record, Berta began the bidding for Gyokeres at an initial £47m plus £8.5m in add-ons (a total package of €65m / $75m).
However, this was quickly rejected as Sporting now want more than the €70m (£60m / $81m) they were previously demanding for their star attacker.
This has seen Arsenal ‘freeze’ talks and prioritise two other strikers, while Gyokeres is thought to be furious with his club.
According to an update from Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, Juventus have ‘snapped’ into action and begun to challenge United and Arsenal for Gyokeres.
Juve are looking to capitalise on the uncertainty surrounding the 27-year-old’s future by signing him before he potentially heads to the Premier League.
The Serie A giants ‘have been anticipating the move for weeks’ and have been ‘talking to the entourage and even with the club (Sporting).’
After having an opening salary offer rejected by Gyokeres, Juve have now put a new deal on the table worth €13m. This could see the goal machine earn around £212,000 a week in Turin.
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Vlahovic out, Gyokeres in?
The key to the operation will be Dusan Vlahovic, as Juve must sell the Serbian before they can bring Gyokeres in. Vlahovic is available for a cut-price fee of €25-30m (up to £26m / $35m).
Juve are clearly confident they can get rid of Vlahovic as they will ‘make an offer of €70m in the next few days’ for Gyokeres.
While Sporting have recently increased their asking price for Gyokeres, Juve side are confident they can strike a deal for €80m (£68m / $93m) or less.
As previously mentioned, United boss Amorim is hopeful Gyokeres will agree a switch to Old Trafford so they can continue their terrific partnership.
But it will take a lot of hard work to convince Gyokeres on such a move. It emerged recently that the Stockholm-born ace is prioritising Arsenal as he wants to play in next season’s Champions League.
Gyokeres’ future is uncertain now that Arsenal have supposedly halted talks, though Juve are certainly ones to watch.
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Viktor Gyokeres: An unusual path to the top
By Ryan Baldi
Gyokeres is one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe at present. And with previous spells at Brighton, St. Pauli and Coventry, he’s taken an unusual path to the top.
The Stockholm native was just 19 years old when he signed for the Seagulls after impressing with IF Brommapojkarna in the Swedish second tier and winning the Golden Boot at the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He started out in Brighton’s under-23s and made eight senior appearances in total for the club, but he never featured in a Premier League match.
Gyokeres was only mildly productive during a loan spell with St. Pauli in the 2. Bundesliga in the 2019-20 season, scoring seven goals in 28 games. And a loan with Swansea City in the Championship over the first half of the following campaign brought even less fortune for the 6ft 2ins striker, who was scoreless across 11 league outings.
It was then on to Coventry, in another loan deal, for the second half of the 2020-21 season. Although he found the net just three times in 19 appearances, the Sky Blues evidently saw enough potential in the forward to make the move permanent, agreeing a £1 million deal with Brighton.
And it proved to be money incredibly well spent. Gyokeres scored 18 goals in 47 all-competition games in his first full season with the club. He built on that performance the following season, too, bagging 22 times in 50 games, firing Mark Robins’ side into the play-offs and earning a place in the 2022-23 EFL Championship team of the Season.
Gyokeres’ superlative form with Coventry caught the eye of Sporting, who splashed a club record £16.6million (€20m, $20.26m) to sign the Swede in July 2023.
In Lisbon, Gyokeres has developed into not only a frighteningly prolific goal-scorer but also one of the most well-rounded elite forwards in Europe.
At Coventry, he’d thrived in a counter-attacking side by utilising his searing pace to attack opponents with blistering runs into the half-spaces, often driving through the inside-left position before cutting centrally to finish with his stronger right foot.
He has retained those traits in Portugal, too, while also developing his ability to find space in the penalty area with savvy, sharp movements over short distances. And, as Sporting are a more possession-based outfit than the Sky Blues were during his time in England, Gyokeres has improved his creativity and hold-up play, employing his large frame to shield the ball and feed midfield runners.
Especially when he worked under Ruben Amorim, Gyokeres has led Sporting’s efforts to regain the ball from the front by closing down defenders and intelligently jumping into passing lanes to grab interceptions and launch attacks from within the final third of the pitch.
Gyokeres finished the season with 29 goals in 33 league games, powering Sporting’s title triumph and named the Primeira Liga’s top scorer and Player of the Year, adding to six Player of the Month awards in Portugal.
It wasn’t just a flash in the pan, either, with Gyokeres not just retaining his form but exceeding it further in his second season – and even after the departure of Amorim to Manchester United.
Not affected by the chance of a summer exit passing him by, Gyokeres scored 54 goals from 52 games in 2024-25, also adding 13 assists. There was another golden boot to be added to his collection, as well as one more player of the month prize.
He is looking better value for money with each passing goal-laden week.