Viktor Gyokeres will refuse to return to Sporting Lisbon this summer in an attempt to promote a transfer deal. Things are getting worse between the Swedish striker and his current club. Sporting are delaying his departure in an attempt to get the best transfer fee.
Sporting Frederico Varandas's president has recently spoken a lot about this bitter story in an effort to retain fans. The focus of the controversy was an agreement between Gyokeres and the club's board, that he would be allowed to leave at a lower price than his official release clause.
Gyokeres has made it clear that this summer is the time for him to leave Lisbon to seek new opportunities and a higher level of football. He has scored 53 goals and 13 assists in 51 matches in the 2024-2025 season. The Swedish striker helped Sporting win a double domestic championship title and felt he should be treated better.
Sporting gave Gyokeres another week's break before he joined the pre-season training program. However, the Portuguese Record said he has no intention of returning.
The 27-year-old striker was Fed up with the situation and personally told Varandas that he felt betrayed. Therefore, Gyokeres will not return to training. He also threatened to speak publicly to tell his story.
Gyokeres is a top target for both Manchester United and Arsenal, who were previously denied a £55m offer by Sporting. But with the "Red Devils" successfully recruiting Matheus Cunha and approaching Bryan Mbeumo, while Arsenal like RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko, there have been little action on Gyokeres in recent weeks.
That disappointed Gyokeres when he wanted to find a new destination as soon as possible. The situation got worse and Varandas also refused to give up.
"Sporting is very calm about this. We do not need to sell Viktor Gyokeres. We have overcome the period of having to sell pillars to survive. However, we still understand the dreams of Viktor Gyokeres as well as other players. We have agreed that we will not require enough value in the release clause, but will be flexible in price.
I can say that Viktor Gyokeres will not leave for 60+10 million Euros. Certainly not. That cannot happen. I have been following the market and see Zubimendi, 6 months younger than Viktor, just being sold for 65 million Euros. I also see Cunha and Mbeumo, in my opinion, not of the same class as Viktor Gyokeres, who are valued at around 75 million Euros" - Varandas said.
The comparison of Varandas' value with other deals in the transfer market is to protect his views. Obviously, the head of the Portuguese team knows what he is doing, the problem is that the price is not up to his requirements.
