Viktor Gyokeres has spoken out about his future on social media after Arsenal made their first offer for the Sporting forward.
The 27-year-old is attracting interest from a string of Europe’s top clubs this summer after a couple of stunning seasons in Portugal.
After joining Sporting from Coventry City in 2023 the Swede has scored 97 goals in 102 games across all competitions.
Unsurprisingly this has drawn a lot of attention and the race for his signature is packed, with interest from England, Italy and Spain.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool have all been linked from the Premier League, while Juventus, Napoli, Atletico Madrid and Saudi side Al Hilal have all been touted as possible destinations.
Get personalised updates on Manchester United every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you.
Gyokeres himself has given little away so far, but has now spoken out about transfer speculation, saying that much of it is untrue and he will explain more when he has something to share.
Writing on Instagram, the Sweden international posted: ‘There is a lot of talks at the moment, most of it is false. I will speak when the time is right.’
The post from the Sporting striker came on the day it was reported that Arsenal had made an offer for him worth a guaranteed €55m (£46.8m) with €10m (£8.5m) in add-ons.
That is not going to be accepted by Sporting who want a lot more for their star performer, especially given the level of interest in him.
The Portuguese champions want €80m (£68m) for Gyokeres and negotiations with Arsenal will continue.
The transfer fee has reportedly caused an issue between Gyokeres and his club as Sporting had an agreement to let him go for a certain amount but have now changed their mind.
The former Coventry City star has a release clause of €100million, but last year, in return for him staying on for another season, Sporting agreed to sell him this summer for a fee below that clause.
It was agreed if Sporting received an offer of at least €60m with a further €10m in add-ons, they would not stand in his way.
Record report however Sporting president Frederico Varandas has decided not to honour that agreement.
Arsenal’s offer did not even reach the previously agreed lower amount, so that was never going to be accepted, but they will have to substantially increase their bid to get him now Varandas has reneged on his agreement with Gyokeres.
Of all the interested parties, it currently seems to be a two-horse race to sign the Swede between Arsenal and Manchester United.
The Gunners appear to have made their choice to go for Gyokeres over RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, but will need to come up with a better offer to make sure they beat the Red Devils to his signature.