Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea are both keeping tabs on former Coventry City striker Viktor Gyökeres, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
The 25-year-old was a huge hit during his spell in the West Midlands, where he hit 43 goals in 116 appearances. Initially joining on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, he made the permanent move to the CBS Arena in the summer of 2021.
A stellar first campaign was backed up by an even more impressive one, where the Swedish international scored 21 times as Coventry made it to the Championship play-off final. However, the Sky Blues missed out on a place in the Premier League following a penalty shootout defeat against Luton Town at Wembley Stadium.
Gyökeres’ form caught the eye of a number of clubs and he eventually sealed a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon for a fee of around €24 million. He’s hit the ground running at the José Alvalade Stadium, scoring 15 times in 18 outings for the Liga Portugal leaders.
https://twitter.com/SportingCP/status/1733109177050902886
Sporting announced upon his arrival that the attacker has a €100 million release clause, although it is a fee which doesn’t look to have put off any potential future suitors. According to Ben Jacobs, speaking to Caught Offside, Premier League duo Arsenal and Chelsea have both sent scouts to watch the star in action:
“Viktor Gyokeres is flying for Sporting right now with nine league goals in 12 games.
“And if he is to leave then clubs are going to have to trigger (or better) his €100m release clause. He only joined Sporting in July and Ruben Amorim has been clear to his board that he doesn’t want to lose his star striker mid-season.
“Both Arsenal and Chelsea have scouted Gyokeres, which is normal, but probably only the latter would have the financial muscle or some might say audacity, to move mid-season.
“Arsenal, much like with any pursuit of Joao Palhinha at Fulham, won’t spend a crazy fee in January but could be one side to watch for Gyokeres over the summer.”
Previous reports have claimed that Coventry negotiated a significant sell-on fee when they sanctioned his transfer earlier this year, meaning they could land between €8-12 million should Sporting receive his full release clause in any potential future sale.
Writer’s View
Coventry fans will be quick to tell you about Gyökeres’ abilities but even they are likely to have been shocked with how well he has taken to European football. The same can be said for Sporting, who would have never envisaged anyone would be willing to meet his €100 million release clause.
Whereas Arsenal look unlikely to make a move anytime soon, Chelsea are in dire need of a striker and could swoop in a desperate attempt to salvage their season in January. The Blues have endured a miserable campaign to date and look set to miss out on European football for the second season in succession.
Head of Writing
