Edu barges Chelsea aside as Arsenal ‘open talks’ for lethal 113-goal striker with new lower fee on cards

Arsenal are stepping up the hunt to sign Viktor Gyokeres after a report claimed Edu has engineered the Gunners into a position of strength for the deal by opening talks with Sporting Lisbon over a summer deal for the striker.

The Gunners are pushing for glory on two fronts this season and have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where Harry Kane and Bayern Munich lie in wait for a place in the last eight. And Arsenal are also currently top of the Premier League table, though face a crunch clash at reigning champions Manchester City, currently in third, when the domestic season resumes after the international break on March 31.

With Liverpool nestled in between the two sides, it promises to be the most exciting finish to a season in years. And if the Gunners are to win either competition, they will need to be at their absolute best in the run in. To that end, Graeme Souness has talked up their credentials and named the one difference-maker in their side who can get them over the line.

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However, there remains a school of thought that suggests the Gunners lack a natural goalscorer up top and the one player who could spell the difference between winning trophies and finishing as narrow seconds.

As it stands, Mikel Arteta’s two main options in Gabriel Jesus (eight in 26) and Eddie Nketiah (six in 33) have not exactly been prolific and that lack of potency up front will ultimately cost, many believe.

Arsenal open talks over Gyokeres as new possible fee emerges

With that in mind, Arsenal are very much in the market for a new centre-forward this summer and have set the wheels in motion after TEAMtalk exclusively revealed they have informed Nketiah he is free to leave if a suitable offer comes in.

To that end, we also reported that three London clubs are sniffing around his signature, though on Monday we also learned that another Premier League side in Wolves are also now in the hunt.

With a sizeable chunk of money coming in for their academy star, the Gunners are planning to reinvest that cash straight into their squad and having scoured Europe for a number of options, including the likes of Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen, it seems they have now settled on their number one target.

And with Gyokeres playing a part in an astonishing 50 goals (37 goals and 13 assists) already this season, the Swede has fast emerged as their top option.

Gyokeres only moved to the Portuguese capital last summer, switching from Championship side Coventry for a bargain €20m, plus €4m in add-ons.

Shrewdly, Sporting CP stuck a €100m clause in his deal to protect themselves from losing their star man on the cheap, though it now seems his exit does look increasingly likely with Arsenal sporting director Edu already having opened talks over his signing.

That’s according to Caught Offside, who report that Edu has been gathering information around the 25-year-old, having learnt that the Portuguese side are willing to sell.

And amid the revelation that Sporting have accepted their striker will move on this summer, prelimiminary talks have begun over a deal and with reports suggesting Arsenal believe a deal could be done in the region of £75m.

Gunners barge Chelsea aside for striker signing

That price remains sizeable, but it currently around £10m less than the clause they could claim through his exit clause.

Sporting do need the sale, though, this summer, so are willing to talk business; now a move to Arsenal appears most likely with the striker’s fellow suitors AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund unable to match the Gunners financially.

Chelsea are also believed to be in the hunt and have also expressed their desire to land Gyokeres.

However, it is Arsenal who are in the driving seat with the likely offer of Champions League football making them a thoroughly-more attractive proposition.

The Gunners have installed Gyokeres as their top option after their top scout was in attendance on Sunday to watch a Gyokeres masterclass take place.

Having fallen a goal behind early on to Boavista, Sporting hit back to win 6-1, with the Swede scoring a hat-trick to fire his side back to the top of the Primeira Liga, where they lead Benfica by a point, but crucially also have a game in hand.

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