A shocking new report has revealed that Viktor Gyokeres' agent has held a meeting with a surprise Premier League club just hours after he was accused of blackmail.
Weeks after the end of the 2024/25 season, it has already become clear that the transfer saga surrounding Sporting star Gyokeres could be the biggest story of the summer.
The Swedish international has been heavily linked with a move away from his current club, with the likes of Manchester United and Juventus said to be interested.
It was widely believed that the striker's departure from Sporting would be relatively smooth, but things took a shock turn when club president Frederico Varandas released a shock statement accusing Gyokeres of blackmail.
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And now, the saga has taken another twist as a new report has claimed that Gyokeres' agent has travelled to secret meetings with a shock Premier League side.
After United confirmed that Ruben Amorim would be joining as their new manager back in November, it looked likely that Gyokeres would soon follow him to Old Trafford.
However, according to CNN commentator Nuno Farinha, this is not the case as the 27-year-old has always had a preference towards joining Arsenal.
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Farinha continued to claim that this desire to join the Gunners this summer led to Gyokeres' agent Hasan Cetinkaya held meetings with the London club on Wednesday.
Like United, it has been heavily reported that Arsenal are eager to sign a new striker in the summer, with the likes of Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko also linked with a move to the Emirates.
Should they beat United in the race for Gyokeres, who scored 54 goals in 52 appearances last season, it would no doubt be seen as a major coup as Mikel Arteta looks to finally win the Premier League title.
News about the meeting comes just hours after Sporting president Varandas responded to reports that Gyokeres has 'gone on strike' telling club officials that he will never play for the Sporting again in a bid to force them to sell him.
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In a shocking statement, the 45-year-old appeared to accuse Gyokeres and his agent of blackmailing the club to try and get them to agree to a price tag of €60million plus €10m.
"I want to make one thing clear: Sporting has common sense and keeps its word," he said via Sebastiao Sousa-Pinto.
"Gyokeres scored 63 goals and 10 assists. Fantastic performance. Certainly one of the best players to have ever stepped onto Portuguese turf. And Sporting will not demand the clause.
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"Now blackmail and insults, Sporting will not accept. One thing is certain: Sporting will not accept 60 million plus 10. As of today, Sporting has not received any proposal for Gyokeres."
Topics: Viktor Gyokeres, Arsenal, Manchester United, Transfer News, Premier League, Football
Ben McCrum