Arsenal have made signing a new striker one of their priorities for the summer window and Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres is reportedly at the top of their shortlist. 

Mikel Arteta is keen to bring in more competition for Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, while Eddie Nketiah is likely to be sold in the coming months.

As exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk, the Gunners have told Nketiah that he is free to find a new club as they will not be able to guarantee him playing time next season.

Gyokeres certainly has the potential to be a valuable addition for Arsenal. The Swedish international has scored an incredible 36 goals in 43 appearances for Sporting this season and only seems to be getting better.

Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are all interested in the former Coventry City forward, so a switch to the Premier League looks to be on the cards for him.

The Gunners are now ready to make the first concrete move in the race for Gyokeres’ signature but will have to cough up a big fee to bring him in.

Arsenal consider player-plus-cash offer for Viktor Gyokeres

According to Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias, Arsenal are ‘preparing to submit a formal proposal’ to sign Gyokeres from Sporting this summer.

The North London side have reportedly been ‘extremely impressed’ with the striker after keeping a close eye on his performances this season.

They are now considered the ‘most likely’ side to submit an offer for Gyokeres but as mentioned, he will not be a cheap signing.

The talented 25-year-old has an £86m release clause in his contract and Sporting are not willing to sell him for less given the level of interest and his importance to the team.

However, it has been claimed that Arsenal could make a player-plus-cash offer in an attempt to bring the price down.

Jornal de Noticias do not name a specific player that they’d be willing to include in the deal but do note that Chelsea and Liverpool are also considering launching offers for Gyokeres.

Arsenal are happy to sanction the departure of Nketiah this summer, so he could be one player they consider offering in a part-exchange deal.

As with Nketiah, TEAMtalk sources state that on loan left-back Kieran Tierney has also been informed that he is free to leave and could be another option for a swap.

It will be interesting to see how this story develops in the coming months, but what’s certain is that Arsenal are determined to beat the competition to Gyokeres.