LONDON: Arsenal have finally agreed a fee of £63.5 million to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon.
The Gunners will pay £54.8 million as a basic fee with an additional £8.6 million in performance-based incentives for the 27-year-old striker, who will sign a five-year contract.
Gyokeres’ agent, Hasan Cetinkaya, agreed to waive his 10 percent commission, thus reducing the fixed fee Arsenal would have to pay without affecting the overall amount Sporting wanted.
After weeks of difficult negotiations with Sporting, the north London club are finally set to land their top target this summer, with an official announcement expected in the next few days.
Gyokeres will become Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer after Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea, Christian Norgaard from Brentford and Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad.
The club also agreed a £52 million transfer for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, who left the club before the Club World Cup final earlier this morning.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants to complete the signing of a key striker before the club departs for a pre-season tour of Singapore and Hong Kong this weekend.
Last season, Arsenal often played without a true number 9 striker, which contributed to them falling 10 points behind champions Liverpool.
Sporting initially demanded a base fee of £60.4 million, plus a further £8.6 million in performance bonuses.
However, Gyokeres refused to return to Sporting’s pre-season training because he insisted on moving to the English Premier League club.
The Swedish striker joined Sporting from Coventry City in 2023 and has since developed into one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe.
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta was in Lisbon last weekend to lead talks with the Portuguese champions.