HERE WE GO: Arsenal’s bid for £143m striker has been accepted as deal advanced to final stage
Coventry City’s long-awaited Viktor Gyokeres payout could be a step closer to landing in the club’s bank account after the Sporting Lisbon teammate, Pedro Goncalves, dropped a huge hint about the Swede’s future during their league title celebrations with Arsenal hoping to complete a deal for the striker.
The Portuguese giants clinched the Liga Betclic title on Saturday evening with a 2–0 win over Vitoria Guimaraes at the Jose Alvalade. Gyokeres and Goncalves were on the scoresheet for the hosts.
Heading into the match, they were level on 79 points with local rivals Benfica and needed them to drop points to take the crown. Bruno Lage’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by SC Braga, handing Sporting their second successive league title.
The victory secured Sporting’s third league title in five years, building on their 2021 breakthrough that ended nearly two decades without league silverware.
Their celebrations stretched long into the night, beginning at the Jose Alvalade before the title parade through Lisbon that ended at Marques de Pombal.
Speaking from the open-top bus, Goncalves addressed the fans and dropped a hint about Gyokeres’ future.
He said: “I just want to tell you something… They said we were never going to be champions without fans (during Covid ), they said we were never going to be two-time champions without [Ruben] Amorim, they said we were never going to win the league without [ex-sporting director Hugo] Viana.
“They say we won’t be three-time champions without Viktor [Gyokeres]. And now, what I want to say is that, we’ll see.”
The Sky Blues are set to benefit from a sell-on clause Coventry, who have a 10 percent sell-on clause and are set to gain financially from any profit on the initial fee they sold the 26-year-old for back in the summer of 2023 (around £20m including bonuses).
The player’s former club, Brighton, also stand to benefit from a sell-on fee, with City entitled to a slice of £43m (the difference between what they sold him for and what he goes for) assuming the above figures are correct. Brighton would then get a cut, understood to be 15 percent, of the payout that Coventry receive.
However, after hinting that Gyokeres might not be part of Sporting’s potential title celebrations next season, kitman Paulinho revealed that ‘good news’ about the striker’s future will follow the Taça de Portugal final on May 25.
“You know what I’m going to tell you? After the Cup game you’ll hear some good news, ok? I don’t lie. Last year you saw that I don’t lie,” he told reporters.
Reports this week claimed that Arsenal are closing in on an agreement with the 26-year-old over personal terms. It’s claimed that the agreement is over a five-year contract expected to be worth around £175,000 per-week.
This follows reports claiming that Arsenal have made their first offer to Sporting for Gyokeres, valued at £63.5 million, amid interest from Manchester United. However, the striker remains focused on securing another trophy for his club next week.
So much so that he remained tight-lipped about his future. “It’s football, I’m still here. I don’t know what’s going to happen. Nobody can predict the future,” he told Sport TV.
