The Viktor Gyokeres-to-Arsenal transfer saga is nearly complete, reports David Ornstein. The two clubs are nearing a “total agreement” for the Swedish striker’s move to North London, with just “finishing touches and minor tweaks” needed. Nearly two weeks ago, the sides reportedly had an agreement in principle for a £54.8M transfer fee plus £8.6M in add-ons, but the nature and structure of the add-ons needed polishing.
That’s a nice way of saying “Sporting tried to rake Arsenal over the coals,” if
reports are to be believed. The general consensus is that this is how Sporting do business — they try to extract every single cent at the negotiating table, see e.g. Pedro Porro’s move to Tottenham. They are well within their rights to operate that way, but it’s a fine line between being tough negotiators and being dicks with whom people don’t really want to do deals.
Despite the difficult negotiations, it seems as though Arsenal will get their man. Y’all can relax your jaws and unclench your fists. I know there was growing concern in some corners that the deal might fall through, and the Gunners would be left scrambling.
The first time we see him play in an Arsenal shirt may be July 31st against Tottenham in Hong Kong — just my speculation. Sunday’s match against Newcastle United feels too soon given he has to travel to Singapore (unless he’s already there, which would be odd). It’s not impossible, though.
I’m sure he’s raring to go and that Mikel Arteta is eager to start working him in with his new teammates. It’s certainly later than both player and manager wanted to get things started, but better late than never. There’s still plenty of preseason left.
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