Juventus are reportedly eyeing a swoop for Viktor Gyokeres, with Arsenal ‘s move for the Sporting Lisbon star seemingly on hold, and have allegedly offered the Swedish player a substantial contract.
Gyokeres, 27, is in high demand following another impressive season with the Portuguese champions and has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League due to interest from Arsenal and Manchester United, although a reunion with his former Sporting boss, Ruben Amorim, at Old Trafford now appears unlikely.
Mirror Football. revealed earlier this month that Gyokeres’ preference would be a move to Arsenal, however, the Gunners are also chasing Benjamin Sesko.
With reports in Portugal suggesting that Arsenal have cooled their interest due to Sporting’s transfer demands, Juve have made their move.
As reported by Corriere dello Sport, the Italian heavyweights are keen to muscle in on Gyokeres and have already signalled to the striker’s representatives that they are prepared to meet his £11million-a-year wage demands.
It’s rumoured elsewhere that Juventus plan to submit a formal offer exceeding £60million in the coming days in an attempt to seal the deal for the former Coventry City man.
This development from Juventus will likely be a significant setback for Arsenal, who remain interested in signing Gyokeres despite their reported ‘frustrations’ over the Sporting hierarchy’s stance on a deal.
Earlier this year, it was rumoured that the club and Gyokeres had a gentleman’s agreement in place, which would permit his departure for around £60m, a figure below his release clause’s full value.
However, Sporting have vehemently denied such an arrangement exists, with president Frederico Varandas publicly slamming Gyokeres’ agent for “playing games” as tensions escalate.
It’s still widely anticipated that Gyokeres will leave Portugal, despite the growing controversy.
On another front, Manchester United are gearing up to intensify their pursuit of Hugo Ekitike, having learned that Gyokeres might prefer a switch to one of their Premier League adversaries. The Red Devils are understood to have initiated discussions with Eintracht Frankfurt regarding the highly-coveted French Under-21s forward, who is also on the radar of Chelsea and Liverpool.
