18 hours ago
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Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Viktor Gyokeres, meanwhile Sporting CP appear to have their replacement lined up.
The Gunners are expected to be able to announce their next transfer very soon, football.london understands, as the finishing touches are made to the deal.
Andrea Berta has been in thorough discussions with his Sporting counterparts to devise the structure of a deal already settled for an initial €63.5million (£55million) plus €10million (£8.7million) in add-ons.
Once sorted, Gyokeres would be able to arrive in London and complete the process of becoming and Arsenal player. If done quickly he will have the opportunity to fly out to Asia to meet Mikel Arteta and the team on their pre-season tour.
The Gunners are thought to be very pleased with the agreement they have found, especially when compared to the £79m figure rivals Liverpool have been made to splash out on Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike.
And every agreement must leave both sides feeling the same way - Sporting will not have wanted to feel short-changed in any way throughout the process.
In the background it would seem the Liga Portugal champions have been working on a deal in tandem to sign a replacement for Gyokeres.
Local publication Record has now provided clarity on that matter, saying Sporting will sign UD Almeria's Luis Suarez for €25m (£21m) with a 10 percent sell-on clause helping their case.
So, Sporting now have a reason to get matters tied up neatly to both Arsenal's and their benefit.
The quicker the resolution, the better it would be for Arteta as it means there is more time for the manager to bed in his new striker before the 2025/26 campaign begins.
Realistically at this point there is only a very small chance that Gyokeres could have a role in the friendly vs Newcastle on Sunday.
But in six days' time Arsenal face rivals Tottenham on their tour of Asia and this is the more likely of the two for the Sweden international to make his unofficial debut.
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