Sporting CP deliver final Viktor Gyokeres blow as Arsenal face brutal £68m transfer reality

Viktor Gyokeres looks set to see his long-awaited transfer to Arsenal finalised this weekend. Negotiations between the Gunners and Sporting CP have dragged on for weeks with that mostly due to the add-on structure of the agreed £63.7million (€73.5m) fee.

With the Swede given permission to travel by the Portuguese champions, medical tests will take place over the next 48 hours and if all goes well, he could make his debut against Tottenham, the final game the club's pre-season tour of Asia, which is scheduled for next Thursday.

Following that, in terms of potential new signings, attention is expected to move onto Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace with interest from north London having been present for a number of weeks. To meet his release clause however, Andrea Berta will have to agree to some sales.

With all of that being said, football.london has taken a look at the latest Arsenal transfer news and rumours;

Sporting fine Gyokeres

As the transfer saga is now over, Sporting have communicated to Gyokeres the value of the fine he must pay with the Swede subsequently forfeiting a month's gross salary, as per Portuguese outlet A Bola.

That works out at roughly £291k (€333k), and with Gyokeres having made it clear he would not play for Sporting again, as he was of the belief a gentleman's agreement was not upheld, it is likely he is not too bothered at paying that if it helped facilitate a transfer to Arsenal.

football.london says: Having left Gyokeres fuming and been harsh negotiators up to to the minute details with Arsenal, it is no surprise to see club president Frederico Varandas deliver one final blow to Gyokeres.

The Sporting chief did make it clear publicly that some form of punishment would be coming his way and considering he did miss nearly two weeks of training, it is a somewhat fair financial penalty. Regardless of the monetary demands, it seems very likely Gyokeres would have just paid it in order for this nightmare to be over.

Until the switch has been officially ratified, Sporting are not entirely powerless but it seems extremely unlikely that anything will stop Gyokeres becoming the Gunners' sixth summer arrival.

Eze transfer latest

As football.london have already reported, Palace want Eze's release clause paid in full with that value believed to be £67.5million. However, the Independent claim the Gunners are hoping to reach an agreement at £60million and pay for his services through three equal instalments.

Their latest report adds that Arsenal plan to ramp up their interest now the Gyokeres deal has been sealed. Eze was in action for Palace on Friday evening and scored in their 3-0 win over Crawley Town.

football.london says: What Arsenal are willing to pay and the payment structure Palace are open to accepting will likely become clear over the next few weeks.

Eze's ability is known to both and with the 2025/26 season fast approaching, the chances of Palace being open to a lower fee or favourable payment terms for the buying club will almost certainly decrease as they will have minimal time to bring in a replacement.

A good relationship between the two London club's could help matters but the Gunners will have to move quickly in order to complete a deal and have him available for their opening game.

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