In the context of a transfer market filled with non-transparent contracts, hidden transfer fees and confidential information, Sporting CP Chairman, Frederico Varandas, was unusually straightforward about his desire to receive a clear fee for star striker Viktor Gyokeres.
"I have been following the market. I see two Premier League strikers - Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo - who are not as good as Viktor Gyokeres, in my opinion, but are being sold for around 75 million Euros.
Those players were 26 years old. So based on our value requirements for Viktor Gyokeres, I believe he can leave" - Varandas shared in June this year.
After weeks of intense negotiations and criticism, Gyokeres has finally reached an agreement to move to Arsenal for an initial fee of £54 million, plus a fee of £8.5 million, bringing the total cost to £62.5 million.
An important factor affecting the final price is the Gyokeres representative's agreement to exempt the initial fee, helping Sporting CP save about 5.5 million pounds.
In terms of market standards, this price puts the Swedish striker in a position equivalent to Cunha, despite the initial commitment of a slight decrease. This may not have satisfied the president Varandas, but it has brought Arsenal reasonable value.
Throughout the eight months of debate over whether Arsenal should spend big on Gyokeres, his age - just turned 27 in June - has often been seen as a barrier. Especially when compared to Benjamin Sesko (22 years old) of RB Leipzig.
However, Varandas' bargaining duties were somewhat simplified when he took Cunha, a player of the same age, as the standard to demand a reasonable price.
Meanwhile, Noni Madueke joined Arsenal from Chelsea for £48 million, almost equivalent to Jamie Gittens. This is an expensive rookie that Chelsea signed from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of 48 million pounds, with an additional fee that could be up to 55 million pounds.
Madueke is three years older than Gittens, has significantly more Premier League experience and is frankly rated as better. However, the transfer fee shows that Chelsea are simply satisfied with maintaining the current spending momentum.
Although the Cunha deal has created a buzz from the start, it would be a lack if Liverpool's role in recruiting midfielder Florian Wirtz were not mentioned.
Recruited from Bayer Leverkusen for £100 million initially, plus £16 million in add-ons, Wirtz's record transfer deal has reminded everyone of the incredible spending power of the Premier League.
A few weeks later, when Liverpool negotiated with Eintracht Frankfurt to sign striker Hugo Ekitike, the final transfer fee was set at £69 million, and could increase to £79 million. This is no coincidence as he was between Cunha and Wirtz in terms of cost.
Ekitike almost joined Newcastle in 2022 for about 30 million pounds. But now he has become a new standard in the transfer market after an impressive season, with 15 goals in 33 Bundesliga matches.
As a result, Chelsea have valued striker Nicolas Jackson at around £80 to £100 million, while anyone who asked RB Leipzig about Sesko has received a similar response.
Sesko (22 years old), Ekitike (all 23 years old) and Jackson (all 24 years old) are young players that are directly compared based on position and age, similar to the cases of Gyokeres, Cunha and Mbeumo. Therefore, Ekitike's transfer fee can be considered an important reference standard.
This is not a new phenomenon as clubs have compared transfer fees for decades. However, it is rare for agreements to be mentioned so frankly and publicly.
