Arsenal really need a new striker for a long time. The club made a decision last summer not to pursue any other goals after Benjamin Sesko decided to sign and stay at RB Leipzig.
That decision was reviewed in January, when Arsenal were short of attackers. Especially after Gabriel Jesus' injury, he will be out for the rest of the season.
The Gunners have been exploring the possibility of recruiting Sesko in January but have been informed that he will not leave in the middle of the season. Viktor Gyokeres, who was also on their shortlist, will also not leave before the summer.
Finally, Aston Villa approached Arsenal with an offer to sign Ollie Watkins for £60 million. The Gunners offered £40 million, but after being rejected, they did not return with another offer.
Sporting director Edu left the club in November and was eventually replaced by Andrea Berta. Of course, it is normal for a club to check the records of some potential targets. And sources say Berta has a habit of negotiating multiple deals at the same time before signing the most profitable deal.
Gyokeres is starting to emerge as a strong candidate at this time. Sesko is said to have a secret deal to leave Leipzig for a fixed fee. However, Leipzig has denied the information and offered a significantly higher valuation.
Moreover, Sesko's potential is huge, but Gyokeres has continuously scored in Portugal and affirmed his position. The striker wants to leave Sporting after scoring 97 goals in 102 matches and winning two national championships.
Gyokeres has a €100 million release clause, which gives Sporting a huge advantage in the negotiations. They are also known for being a club that can negotiate fiercely.
Manchester United have found this out as negotiations have dragged on head coach Ruben Amorim's move to Old Trafford last year.
Sporting president Frederico Varandas insists any fee for Gyokeres must be commensurate with his status as one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe. Arsenal believes the valuation of around €80 million is too high. As a result, negotiations have been delayed due to the rigidity of both sides.
After that, the parties involved tried to narrow the gap. Gyokeres' agent has agreed to exempt their initial fee, saving Sporting €6.35 million.
The striker himself has also denied interest from other teams, including Man United. He told Sporting that he would not return to training before the season because he wanted to leave the club.
After Sporting accepted the general framework of a deal including a payment of 63.5 million Euros plus 10 million Euros in add-ons, the nature of these add-ons became a hot topic of discussion. In fact, this is the reason why Gyokeres and the Arsenal squad did not participate in the Asian tour.
Arsenal have considered a series of options, including a clause to trigger the allowance if Gyokeres wins the Premier League Golden Boot. Another condition is if he wins the Ballon d'Or, and the third condition is if Arsenal win the Premier League.
At times, Arsenal thought they were close to reaching an agreement, but the terms changed. Sporting often claim to want easier-to-reach trigger terms for add-ons.
