Viktor Gyokeres has personally informed Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas that he wants to leave, and he’s not expected to return to training with his current club.
With a week to go until the start of Sporting CP’s pre-season, Viktor Gyokeres’ future remains uncertain.
Fabrizio Romano and Portuguese outlet Record report that Gyokeres has personally informed Sporting president Frederico Varandas of his decision to leave, with no intention to play for Sporting anymore.
Romano adds that Gyokeres wants a new chapter, that he feels heartbroken that Sporting don’t seem to be honouring his exit pact, and that he’s not expected to return to training.
Correio da Manha reported on Tuesday morning that Varandas believes he’s in the right, and he doesn’t think Gyokeres would really threaten the club with a strike.
Sporting are set to return to training on Tuesday, July 1st, and despite Varandas’ convictions, Gyokeres is reportedly considering not showing up if his situation isn’t resolved.
Jornal de Noticias claim Sporting have already drawn up a profile for Gyokeres’ successor. They’re clearly preparing for the eventuality of his departure.
This all follows recent reports that Arsenal are considering moving on from their pursuit of Benjamin Sesko due to the player’s salary demands. The suggestion is that Gyokeres is the Gunners’ primary alternative.
But there’s a lot of uncertainty over how much Sporting would accept for Gyokeres’ sale. All we know for sure is that Varandas is publicly insisting he’ll accept less than €100m (£85.3m) and more than €60m + €10m add-ons (£51.2m + £8.5m add-ons).
If that’s true, the total transfer fee will fall somewhere between £60-85m.