‘Berta to push Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal deal as £25m discount emerges’
Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta is expected to put Viktor Gyokeres forward as a key target for the summer transfer window.
The Gunners‘ obvious need for a natural goalscorer has been apparent for some time now, with their ongoing search dominating much of the past two transfer windows.
Despite enduring an injury crisis across the forward line, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all on the sidelines at the same time, Arsenal opted against signing an attacker in the January window.
Many believed this decision would go onto damage Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League this season, as Liverpool have since extended their gap over Mikel Arteta’s side at the top of the table to 12 points.
However, with the announcement of Berta as the club’s new sporting director, plans have been ramped up to find a suitable solution in the summer transfer window, with the ex-Atletico Madrid man a major fan of Sporting Lisbon’s Gyokeres.
Sporting may be prepared to do a cut-price deal for Gyokeres
According to The Athletic, indications at Sporting suggest they are prepared to a deal for less than Gyokeres’ €100million (£85m) release clause this summer, with a fee of around €70m (£60m) potentially on the cards.
With the Sweden international turning 27 in June, a move to one of Europe’s elite is seen as now or never, which has led to the Portuguese side lowering their demands.
The report says that the new figures quoted poses Gyokeres as “a much more attractive proposition”, with the striker also long-linked with a move to join former boss Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.
| Gyokeres stats for Sporting this season |
| Games – 43 |
| Goals – 43 |
| Assists – 11 |
Berta is a longstanding admirer of Gyokeres
It’s been clear for a while that Arteta’s preferred striker choice is Alexander Isak, however with Newcastle thought to be wanting upwards of £120m to consider his sale, a deal looks unlikely.
This means Arsenal have to look at other options and in doing so need to trust their new sporting director.
During his time at Atletico Madrid in the same role, Berta oversaw many huge deals to bring attacking talent to the club.
The 53-year-old’s track record in this area has been promising on the whole, with Antonio Greizmann, Diego Costa and Julian Alvarez proving the best value for money signings.
| Berta forward signings at Atletico Madrid | Fee |
| Joao Felix | £113m |
| Julian Alvarez | £82m |
| Alvaro Morata | £58m |
| Diego Costa | £57m |
| Antonie Griezmann | £24.8m |
| Matehus Cunha | £22m |
| Luis Suarez | £5.5m |
| Memphis Depay | £2.6m |
He clearly has an eye for spotting promising forwards and Gyokeres would bring many qualities to the Arsenal forward line which it currently lacks.
The 26-year-old’s speed and power are his biggest assets which provide him with the tools to drift to the flanks before making diagonal runs in behind.
This would be an interesting strength to see Arteta utilise, as outside of Martinelli his current options do not possess much raw speed.
One area that Gyokeres may need to sharpen, however, is his aerial prowess as he hardly scores headed goals.
With Arteta unlikely to deviate from his style, which has a strong emphasis on build-up and crosses in wide areas, Gyokeres would need to adapt quickly to be an instant success in north London.