Sporting CP vice president Francisco Salgado Zenha has denied reports that the club have already received an offer for Arsenal-linked striker Viktor Gyokeres.
On Tuesday, the Portuguese media made their latest claim that Arsenal had submitted an opening offer for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness) wrote that the Gunners had presented a bid worth around €70m, plus a signing bonus of €12m for Gyokeres and a five-year deal worth €7m per year.
Yet Sporting vice president Francisco Salgado Zenha has quickly rebuffed the claims, telling the Portuguese media that they haven’t received any offers for Gyokeres at this stage.
“He has three more years on his contract,” Zenha said. “At the moment there are no offers, he has three more years on his contract. I think the answer has been given.”
Correio da Manha’s claims seemed a bit dodgy to begin with, given they suggested Arsenal had met with Gyokeres’ agent while in Lisbon for the Arsenal Women’s Champions League final against Barcelona.
Reports have repeatedly suggested that Sporting didn’t want to discuss Gyokeres’ future until after their cup final against Benfica – which was the very next day.
The idea that Arsenal would ignore Sporting’s request and contact Gyokeres’ agent on the eve of his big game was always somewhat far-fetched.
Ryan Taylor reported for the Mirror on Tuesday that Arsenal are considered the front runners for Gyokeres if they do follow up on their interest, adding that the player has a gentleman’s agreement with Sporting to leave for roughly £55-60m.
But it’s only now that you’d expect the Gunners to step up their pursuit of a new striker, whether that’s Gyokeres or someone else.