'Concrete Talks': Andrea Berta handed £70m Arsenal transfer concern hours ahead of PSG kick-off

Manchester United still have ‘no agreement’ in place to sign prolific Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres this summer but reports of ‘concrete talks’ still come as a blow to Arsenal.

The Gunners are in the market for a talisman this summer to inject the firepower needed for Mikel Arteta’s squad in order to challenge for the Premier League title next term. Several highly rated goalscorers across the continent have been linked, but it is Gyokeres who had emerged as a most likely candidate in recent weeks.

GiveMeSport claimed on Monday that Arsenal were ‘ready to up the ante’ in their pursuit of the player and that new technical director Andrea Berta is ‘leading the charge’ to bring Gyokeres to the Premier League for around £70 million. The 26-year-old scored four goals for Sporting CP against Boavista last weekend and that performance supposedly made the striker the ‘main focus’ at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal dealt transfer blow ahead of Paris Saint-Germain

However, just hours ahead of the mammoth Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium, Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg has suggested that the transfer race is far from a foregone conclusion. Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim worked with Gyokeres in Portugal and the Red Devils have held talks with the player.

Plettenberg wrote on social media platform X: “Been told that there is still no agreement between Manchester United and Viktor #Gyökeres. He has not given #MUFC the green light yet. Rúben Amorim is very keen on him – that’s no secret. As previously reported, concrete talks have already taken place. Many other top clubs remain in the race. The race for Gyökeres continues.”

News of continued Manchester United interest comes as a blow to Arsenal and Berta. It had appeared that the Red Devils were on the verge of an agreement to splurge £63 million on Wolves striker Matheus Cunha, which was thought to have made a second serious outlay on a talisman unlikely.

Arsenal had also been linked with Cunha, who Berta previously signed at Atletico Madrid, but looked to have been beaten by Manchester United. News that Amorim could also want Gyokeres and that the club is making moves to make that happen is a further setback to the Gunners.

Ruben Amorim and Viktor Gyokeres have Sporting CP history

There's a famous alchemy between Gyokeres and Amorim, with the former Coventry City man excelling under the manager in Portugal. Gyokeres signed for Sporting from Coventry City in July 2023 and the player's agent Hasan Cetinkaya has been outspoken in the fact that Amorim was the reason that deal happened. He told Portuguese outlet Record: "Everyone was waiting for Viktor to sign with a Premier League club.

“I brought Viktor to Sporting for just one reason, and this is also something I said to Mr Amorim when I saw him for the first time. I said it before I even said hello to him: 'I only brought my player here because of you'. Therefore, I only brought Gyokeres to Sporting because of Ruben Amorim.

"There were eight Premier League clubs who made concrete proposals to Coventry and me, which guaranteed more money, more commissions and a higher transfer value than Sporting. I said no to everyone and told Viktor that Sporting was our next destination."

In other news, Arsenal must use Sir Alex Ferguson transfer trick against PSG tonight - opinion.