'First-choice club' - Arsenal and Chelsea £86m target sends huge transfer message

Arsenal and Chelsea have both been linked with moves to sign the Sporting Lisbon star Viktor Gyokeres in the upcoming transfer season. The Swedish star has contributed to over 50 goals this campaign already and has been one of the most superior of his position across the continent.

A recent report from the Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepulveda has said that both the Gunners and Blues have maintained their interest in the Sporting CP star with the former ‘preparing an offer’ for the Swedish marksman. It now appears Chelsea are too preparing their own offer thus indicating one of the two London clubs will be forced to cough up the full £86m breakout clause in order to prevent the other from getting ahead in a potential bidding war.

It is no secret that Gyokeres, 25, is expected to leave his current club in the summer, especially if Sporting CP’s head coach Ruben Amorim makes the Premier League move himself but unfortunately for one of the aforementioned London sides, the striker has already made one club his transfer priority.

A recent report from Football Transfers has claimed that the 25-year-old has already turned down a move to Stamford Bridge and made Arsenal his ‘first-choice club’ to join this summer. The Portuguese club are supposedly demanding £68.4m of the £85.5 release clause to be paid up front with the report indicating Mikel Arteta’s side will hope to bring this figure down in the coming weeks.

Starting his career in his home country, Gyokeres moved from IF Brommapojkarna to Brighton in 2018. While he would never feature in a Premier League match for the Seagulls - making EFL Cup and FA Cup appearances instead - the Swedish star spent loan spells at FC St Pauli, Swansea City and Coventry City before joining the latter permanently in 2021. He was twice named Player of the Month during the 2022-23 Championship season and his success caught the eye of Sporting CP whom he joined in 2023. Gyokeres already has 20 international appearances and has scored six times for his country.

During his time at Coventry, Opta Analyst described Gyokeres as “quick on the turn, a powerful, fast runner with the ball at his feet and a threat in front of goal. A major problem for opposition defences when these transitions occur. He often pulls defenders out wide and attacks the space in behind the opposition, but he also has the strength to hold the ball up and await teammates to support the attack.”

His style of play has already been noted as one that would work exceptionally well with Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard who has created the third most chances in the league (78) so far this season.