Arsenal and Chelsea have both been linked with the talisman, who appears open to a summer transfer.

Arsenal and Chelsea will be on alert after transfer target Viktor Gyokeres spoke about his future at Sporting Lisbon in a cryptic message ahead of the summer window opening.

The 25-year-old has been hotly linked with a move to the Premier League this summer with the Gunners and the Blues supposedly frontrunners to complete a deal with the Portuguese side. Both those London sides have sent representatives to watch the talisman in action this season.

Last month, Portuguese transfer specialist Pedro Sepulveda reported that the striker had a €100 million (£85.8m) release clause in his deal and that the club would only consider selling their star man if that fee was met with an offer. Should an interested party do that, then Sporting would stand powerless in stopping discussions happening between Gyokeres and a new club.

The Swedish international has plundered an eye-watering 41 goals in all competitions this season, that haul coming in just 47 appearances as he enjoyed a run of form that has caught the attention of the footballing world. Gyokeres only joined Sporting last summer, completing a £17m move from Championship outfit Coventry City having bagged 21 goals in the Championship last season.

The striker now has European experience having scored five goals in his nine Europa League outings. Speaking this weekend about his future, via Fabrizio Romano, Gyokeres appeared to hint that a transfer could well be a possibility this summer.

He said: "I love being at Sporting. We will see what happens, I can't promise anything right now. I'm very happy here at Sporting, I'm under contract but things in football are always happening fast, we need to adapt."

Arsenal and Chelsea will both be wary of splashing £85 million on the player amid Profit and Sustainability Rules. Those two sides had previously been linked with a £100 million move for Brentford striker Ivan Toney, but those rumours have cooled in recent months.