Arsenal-linked striker with £85m release clause responds to transfer question after major development at current club

Reported Arsenal target Viktor Gyokeres has been speaking after a major development that could impact his future. The 26-year-old has enjoyed a superb spell with Sporting CP so far, scoring 45 goals in 43 league games since arriving in 2023 from Coventry City.

The striker is one of the hottest frontmen in Europe, and clubs began to circle just months after he signed for the Portuguese club, with Arsenal among those heavily linked with a move for him. But until now, Mikel Arteta has continued to resist signing another striker despite claims that the Gunners are missing an out-and-out goalscorer.

Many other clubs have also been linked, though, and Manchester United may now be the obvious destination for the Sweden international. That’s because the Red Devils have appointed Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim, who will officially join the club in eight days after a £10million settlement was reached between the two clubs.

Amorim has got the best out of Gyokeres, with the pair winning a league title together. on the Iberia. The obvious conclusion is that Amorim could try to solve United’s attacking issues by trying to sign Gyokeres in either January or next summer, and it’s a question that has already been put to the 26-year-old.

He responded, as reported by The Mirror: “Going with Amorim to Man United? I don’t know, I’m here. I really like being here, it’s not something I think about. I’m enjoying it here. I’m sad about him leaving. We wish him all the best”. Whether United could afford to buy Amorim within financial rules is another question, with Sporting likely to demand an enormous fee given the player’s long contract.

Arsenal are in a similar boat, though, having racked up big spending bills across the last two summers. Gyokeres has an £85million release clause as things stand.

What Amorim has said

Amorim was appointed as United boss on Friday, while he will officially arrive on November 11. He said of his situation at Sporting in recent days: "I can't say much. It's a phase where people feel what they have to feel. I wanted to explain the situation. At the beginning of the season, and the chairman was there to confirm it, I had a conversation with him and [director of football Hugo] Viana, and I said that, whatever happened, it was my last season at Sporting," he said.

“The season started and we started to have a very good season. United came along, paid the clause, above the clause, and the chairman defended his interests. I never discussed anything with the chairman. The only request I made was that it would be at the end of the season and they told me that wasn't possible, that it was now or never. I had three days to decide on something that would completely change my life. It's not the first time that I've had my clause paid by another club. Nor the second. I wanted that club and that context. It's just like Sporting."