Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal: £68.4m transfer prediction made amid "baffling" slow striker search

Sporting Lisbon could be pricing Arsenal-linked Viktor Gyokeres out of an exit this summer if they demand a specific amount of money for him, but the Gunners' lack of intensity has been "baffling", expert Charles Watts believes.

Speculation surrounding the future of the Sweden international has been heating up to the maximum over the past week, where there have been several significant developments if reports from Portugal are to be believed.

Potentially the most striking of those updates is Gyokeres allegedly deciding that he will not join Manchester United, opening the door for Arsenal to make their first formal offer for the 27-year-old.

Sporting president Frederico Varandas has also denied the existence of a supposed gentleman's agreement, which would have allowed a "furious" Gyokeres to leave for around £59m, although they will not demand his €100m (£85.5m) release clause is paid in full.

Asked by Sports Mole for his knowledge of the situation, Watts replied: “It’s a tough one. I'm not doubting reporting from Portugal, I'm sure that the reports are well sourced over there. But it's been very hard to firm them up from our side, reports of an actual formal offer being made. I've not been able to have that confirmed. So I'm not sure.

“I couldn't sit here right now and say that is the case. If I was leaning one way, I'd probably say that's not the case. That there might have been talk of numbers involved, but in terms of a formal, official offer on paper, I'm not sure that's where we. Clearly there were talks held, there were some really good details in some of the reports that came from Portugal about where the meeting took place, who was at the meeting. Someone’s been told that as facts.

“It's been very hard to keep on top of it because each day things have seemingly moved on to such an extent. The meeting taking place, a formal offer, Gyokeres is choosing Arsenal, then Arsenal freeze talks. That all happened in the space of about 48 hours, while over here you've not seen that backed up anywhere in terms of firm reporting from anyone within the Arsenal press pack.

“It’s been hard to sift through what you think might be correct. I don't think we're really any different to where we were last time we spoke. Arsenal are looking at both strikers, and as of this point, they haven't really put the foot down and gone in the direction of one or the other, which is kind of confusing, kind of baffling. I don't know why they're taking this long, I share the fans' frustration on it. They want to see the club attack the window with a bit of intensity. And we haven't really seen that yet.”

Watts: 'Sporting could price Gyokeres out of move for £68m'

It was believed that Sporting and Gyokeres had verbally agreed to a parting of the ways if an interested party stumped up a fee of £59m, as a token of gratitude to the Scandinavian for his sensational efforts over the past two campaigns.

However, after learning that Sporting would not honour the agreement, the Swede allegedly threatened to go on strike in a bid to force an exit, which may now take around €80m (£68.4m).

Gyokeres could still prove slightly cheaper than Arsenal's other prime attacking target - RB Leipzig's £75m-rated Benjamin Sesko - although the latter is considerably younger and would be the more sensible arrival in Watts's eyes.

The Arsenal journalist also expressed a belief that Sporting demanding £68.4m for Gyokeres could scupper his chances of a move away, adding: “If you're looking at Gyokeres and Sesko and both are basically going to cost £70m give or take, you'd swing towards Sesko. He's so much younger, a lot of untapped potential, sell on value is there. Gyokeres might be great for a couple of seasons, but then he gets towards 30, you've got no sell on value.

“I think Sesko is definitely the most sensible signing. Gyokeres comes with a risk, because of where he's been playing his football, who he's been scoring his goals against, his age and what the value will be. Money-wise, the Kroenkes, Tim Lewis, their job is to balance the books and make sure money has been spent in the best areas. I can absolutely understand them thinking that Sesko will be the better option.

“I thought it was interesting what Sporting's owner was saying; gentlemen's agreements have got to be the worst things in football, really. What is the point of them? It never works and it always turns into a messy situation. €100m that's just not going to happen. And if he's realistically looking around the €80m mark, he might be pricing the striker out of a move as well.”

While Arsenal fans are yet to see a single new face through the door, all other members of the traditional 'Big Six' have made at least one permanent signing since the opening of the first summer window, which ran from June 1 to June 10.

'How long do Arsenal want?'

Manchester City captured Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders ahead of the Club World Cup, while Liverpool should soon welcome Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez through the door after Jeremie Frimpong.

Elsewhere, Chelsea triggered the £30m relegation clause in Liam Delap's Ipswich Town contract, Manchester United paid £62.5m to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Tottenham Hotspur have converted Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso's loans into permanent deals.

Arsenal simply cannot afford any mistakes in the market this summer, perhaps explaining why they are taking their time compared to their rivals, but Watts is baffled by the lack of early activity.

“I don't want to see just a player through the door," he concluded. "But how long do they want? It's not like this is just this summer they've been thinking about it, they didn't do anything in January, last summer they didn't get the striker they wanted. It’s not like they've only just started this process, it's been going on for an awful long time. You’ve had enough time to decide who you really, really want to go out and get it done. I expected them to really go out quickly in this window.

“It must be noted that we are literally on day three of the transfer window, the main section of the window. That has skewed perspective, because you talk about Man City, Chelsea, they were doing deals specifically so they could play [in the Club World Cup]. A couple of other clubs took advantage of that, Liverpool, for example. Arsenal do have time. It's not a massive rush, but it would have just been nice for everyone just to have seen a firm grasp of the striker situation early doors.

“It feels from the outside that they haven't really decided who they're going for yet. That just makes it feel like there's a bit of confusion behind the scenes. And that's not what you want to see in such an important window. Behind the scenes, they must know. They've had so long.”

While Arsenal appear no closer to signing a new striker, two deals should be sealed soon - Martin Zubimendi's £51m arrival from Real Sociedad and Kepa Arrizabalaga's £5m capture from Chelsea.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Arsenal's striker transfer plans, including talk of a possible move for Ollie Watkins

Written by
Ben Knapton