Arsenal have finally reached agreement with Sporting for the transfer of Viktor Gyökeres in a deal worth up to €73.5m (£63.7m), having resolved the problematic issue of the €10m of add-ons to end a tortuous saga and Mikel Arteta’s hunt for a striker.
The London club, who are poised to confirm the signing of the centre-half Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia for an initial €15m, made the official breakthrough late on Tuesday, sending an updated offer to their Portuguese counterparts to satisfy them over the structure of the bonuses. Sporting have wanted the add-ons to be achievable, based on appearances, goals and assists by Gyökeres plus Champions League qualification, whereas Arsenal had wanted to include some more difficult ones.
As the negotiations dragged at the end of last week, it is understood that Sporting felt €5m of Arsenal’s proposed bonuses were achievable, €5m not so. One clause that was suggested related to Gyökeres winning the Ballon d’Or with Arsenal.
The negotiations have been handled largely by the agents, with club-to-club contact at a minimum. Sporting are comfortable that the bonuses are achievable, allowing them to reflect on having effectively held out for what they wanted.
RM Block
Sporting had demanded €70m plus €10m in add-ons; an €80m euro package was the target, albeit it was less than the €100m release clause in Gyökeres’s contract. They have got there with a basic fee of €63.5m and the agents having agreed to waive their 10% cut of that – a saving to Sporting of €6.35m.
The positions on both sides had long been entrenched, Gyökeres determined to force the move to Arsenal, ignoring interest from elsewhere; Sporting digging in hard for their money. There has been conflict, Gyökeres refusing to report back for pre-season training with Sporting but, at last, Arteta can look forward to working with his man.
It was always going to be a pivotal summer for Arsenal and Gyökeres is the latest step in a spending spree. Arteta and the sporting director, Andrea Berta, have overseen the arrivals of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martín Zubimendi, Christian Nørgaard and Noni Madueke for a combined £118.5m.
Mosquera has travelled to Singapore to link up with the squad on their pre-season tour. The 21-year-old, who represented Spain at this summer’s European Under-21 Championship, has signed a five-year contract which has the option of a further year.
Gyökeres was a sensation at Sporting, scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances. Having signed for £20.5m from Coventry in the summer of 2023, the 27-year-old helped Sporting to the league title in each of his seasons with them – plus the Portuguese Cup in the last one. - Guardian
