Arsenal face £85m dilemma over lethal goal-scoring ace
Arsenal are said to have hit a stumbling block in their pursuit of a big-money striker
With the summer 2024 transfer window now open, Arsenal can finally begin to make headway as they seek a new striker for the 2024/25 campaign.
They have been long-linked with stars across Europe, including Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak. However, as moves for these goal-scoring aces have cooled, the Gunners have continued to remain in contention to sign Napoli’s £110m-rated star Victor Osimhen and now the latest reports link the Emirates side back to Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres.
However, Mikel Arteta faces an age old dilemma as he seeks to sign the Swedish ace with Ruben Amorim’s sign reportedly unwilling to budge on their valuation of Gyokeres, which currently stands at over £20m more than what the Gunners are prepared to pay.
The Gunners have repeatedly scouted the 26-year-old striker over the past 12 months as their search for an out-and-out striker heated up but, according to The Sun, Sporting CP have the intention of selling other first-team stars this summer and are exceptionally reluctant to part ways with the former Coventry City star.
Gyokeres scored 43 goals in 50 appearances for Sporting across all competitions last season and has a release clause of around £85 million. However, Arsenal are said to be hopeful of negotiating a fee in the region of £50-60m with the Portuguese giants, as things currently stand, averse to let him leave for anything other than the aforementioned £85m.
The Sun’s report continues by detailing that the club are prepared to raise funds through the sale of other players within their squads, including Arsenal-linked star Ousmane Diomande and Goncalo Inacio. 20-year-old Diomande is valued at £50m and, despite an inconsistent spell under Amorim in the Portuguese capital, the defender has admirers at both the Emirates and Manchester United.
Arteta’s primary target this transfer window was believed to be 22-year-old Slovenian international Sesko. However, the Bundesliga ace scuppered the N7 club’s plans by signing a contract extension with RB Leipzig. The Gunners had hoped to sign Sesko for the ‘bargain’ price of £52m but with this now seemingly not an option, it remains to be seen whether the Emirates club will be prepared to cough up a further £20m in order to sign Gyokeres.