Arsenal directors have flown out to Lisbon to complete a deal to sign Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, according to reports.
The Sweden international is attracting interest from a number of clubs, especially in the Premier League, after helping Sporting win the Portuguese title and a dramatic Taca de Portugal final on Sunday.
Gyokeres scored his 54th goal in all competitions to equalise in the tenth minute of added time at the end of the second half before Conrad Harder and Francisco Trincao scored goals in extra time to give Sporting a 3-1 win over Benfica.
The former Coventry City man’s sensational scoring form has turned many heads this season with Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal three of the clubs most interested in his services.
Gyokeres’ association with Ruben Amorim, who managed him at Sporting before taking the job at Old Trafford, has seen lots of rumours linking him with the Red Devils.
But Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg revealed on Monday that interest from Man Utd is ‘now almost off the table’ because of their pursuit of Matheus Cunha.
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He wrote on X: ‘Understand that a move for Viktor Gyokeres to Manchester United is now almost off the table!
‘It is currently not the player’s objective either. Instead, Man Utd are now signing Matheus Cunha.’
And now Portuguese publication Correio da Manha claim that Arsenal directors are ‘in Lisbon’ and have confirmed that Gyokeres’ agent ‘already has the official proposal to present’ from the Gunners.
The report adds that the Arsenal chiefs have ‘come to Lisbon to prepare the details of Viktor Gyokeres’ transfer’ to the north London club.
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Speaking about his future after the Portuguese cup final, Gyokeres said: “Let us see.
“It’s hard for me to say, because yeah it is football and you never know what’s going to happen in the summer. So for me to say anything else than that is impossible.”
When asked specifically about interest from Arsenal, the Swede replied: “I don’t know, I just focus on this.
“I’ve tried to focus on the last games because it’s so important and I don’t want to think about anything else. So yeah, if anything is true, let’s see in the summer.”
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Arsenal are also looking for an attacking midfielder in the summer with former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown insisting Morgan Gibbs-White is “the perfect answer” to Gunners’ creativity issues.
Brown told Football Insider: “Mikel Arteta wants to add more drive into his midfield. At the moment, they’re very one-dimensional and very passive in their play.
“They move up the pitch in steady blocks, and then they get near the penalty box and there’s no space for anybody to run in to, which is a problem.
“Look at the best City and Liverpool teams, they all have the ability to break forward quickly and make those runs from the middle of the park.
“That’s something Arsenal lack and something they want to add to their squad. Morgan Gibbs-White is the perfect answer to that problem because that’s what he does best.
“He’s got energy, he makes those runs, he looks to drive the team forward. Declan Rice does that best for Arsenal, but then they’re also asking him to do all the other midfield job so it limits what he’s best at.
“Having Gibbs-White in there alongside him would get the best out of them both.
“I think it’s a deal that makes sense for him as well, because he’ll want to play in the Champions League next season and they can offer it.”
