Manchester United made a last-minute effort to disrupt Arsenal’s transfer pursuit of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon. The Gunners have been discussing the details of Gyokeres’ transfer fee with Sporting for a while, and this may have left an opportunity for their Premier League competitors. Gyokeres is eager to leave Sporting during the summer transfer window, and tensions between him and the club have heightened. After hinting at a potential strike, the former Coventry player seemed to have achieved his goal when Arsenal opted to sign him over Benjamin Sesko. Additionally, it has been reported that Gyokeres has ended his relationship with his girlfriend amid the ongoing transfer situation. Last weekend, it was reported that Arsenal and Sporting had reached a verbal agreement on a deal valued at an initial £55 million with an additional £8.6 million in bonuses. However, ongoing negotiations between Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta and Sporting’s executives have not resulted in a complete agreement yet. The main issue is the structure of the deal, and the delays have prevented Arsenal from signing Gyokeres in time for their pre-season tour in Asia. What initially seemed like a minor obstacle for Gyokeres’ transition to London may be turning into a more significant problem, as Portuguese media has recently indicated that Arsenal’s deal is ‘increasingly at risk’, according to the Mirror and SIC. Reports indicate that Arsenal’s initial bid is £55 million, with the possibility of it increasing to £60 million. as Gyokeres’ representative forwent his commission of £5.6 million. Sporting finds that inflexible framework to be unacceptable. In other news, Record reports that United has presented a new offer valued between £60-69 million. The publication highlights that Gyokeres, who was coached by Ruben Amorim at Sporting, remains solely interested in moving to Arsenal; however, this situation adds an unexpected twist to the transfer drama.
