Gyokeres to complete Arsenal move over weekend

Viktor Gyokeres, a striker from Sweden, is expected to leave Sporting this weekend for Arsenal.

A £63.5m deal was in its final stages, according to reports from BBC Sport, but it only stalled because of club discussions regarding add-on terms.

The 27-year-old is expected to sign a five-year contract with Arsenal and sign a contract with the club in the coming days after receiving permission to travel to finish his medical.

The first leg of their Asia-focused pre-season tour begins in Singapore, where the Arsenal squad is staying.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he “cannot talk about a player who is not ours yet,” but that any new signing would make the most of the tour.

“For sure,” he said. We want to integrate a player with the team as quickly as possible after we have finished everything, according to Arteta.

“With Noni]Madueke, it was impossible because he needed time [after playing in the Club World Cup]. He’ll probably take a shorter vacation than he deserves because he wants to join us right away when we return.

I believe that getting them to start collaborating with the team, getting to know each other, and having the ideas we want to have in mind is better done right away.

After scoring 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting last season, Gyokeres has been in demand for summer transfers.

After reaching an impasse in their bid to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, BBC Sport revealed earlier this month that Arsenal had turned their attention to him.

After his team finished 10 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League, Arteta has been desperate to add an elite centre-forward.

With the signing of England winger Madueke, 23, from Chelsea last week, the Spanish manager expanded his attacking options overall.

Gyokeres, a former Brighton and Coventry striker, helped Sporting win back-to-back Premier League titles in 97 games over the course of his two years in Portugal.

One of the most prolific strikers in the Championship was him when he was at Coventry.

In 116 games for the Sky Blues, he made 43 goals and was named in their 2022-23 championship team for the year. He signed for Sporting for about £20 million that summer.