Arsenal sent clear £85m message by manager ahead of January transfer window
Arsenal have been sent a clear message that they must pay Viktor Gyokeres’ full release clause of £85million if they plan to sign him in January. Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim says there is no way the Portuguese club will let the forward go for anything less.
Arsenal could enter the market for a new striker in the winter window. Brentford’s Ivan Toney is a target, while Victor Osimhen has also been linked with the Gunners.
Gabriel Jesus has struggled in front of goal this season, while also missing a number of matches through injury. Eddie Nketiah has fallen out of favour under Mikel Arteta, having not started any of the last seven matches across the Premier League and Champions League.
Signing players in January is notoriously tough, with clubs not keen to depart with their best players mid-season. And it appears Sporting are not going to make it easy for Arsenal.
Read more… Pochettino sends clear message to Chelsea board after disappointing Everton loss
Portuguese outlet Record claimed this week that Arsenal have scouted Gyokeres on a number of occasions this season. The 25-year-old only joined Sporting in the summer from Championship side Coventry.
Sporting inserted a release clause in his contract of just over £85m (€100m). Amorim has claimed the club will not let any player leave in January unless their respective clauses are met.
The 38-year-old coach said: “I can’t guarantee anything, what I can say is what they tell me and that is that any player only leaves through the clause. It’s the only security that clubs in Portugal have.
“Our idea is not to sell anyone in January, because we have a full calendar and we need all the players available. I’m calm about that.
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Don’t miss…
Man Utd star Hojlund told to give Dalot dressing down over ‘lack of respect'[QUOTES]
Nicolas Jackson dragged down the tunnel as temper boils over after Everton loss[NEWS]
Bruno Fernandes accused of getting booked on purpose to miss Liverpool clash[REACTION]
“At this moment we are only selling due to the clause, it is a different security than last year, when [Pedro] Porro left in January [to Tottenham] when he was very important in our dynamics.”
Gyokeres has had a fine start to life in Portugal, scoring 15 times in his first 18 appearances in all competitions to lead his side to the top of the table. He is a Sweden international who spent three years on the books of Brighton.
He made just eight appearances for the Seagulls and had loan spells at Swansea and Coventry before joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2021. Gyokeres scored 43 times in 116 games for the Sky Blues, notching 21 goals in his final season in the Championship.
Source: Read Full Article