Liverpool are one of three Premier League clubs who could reportedly pip rivals Manchester United and Chelsea to the signing of Sporting Lisbon‘s in-demand striker Viktor Gyokeres this summer.
The 26-year-old Sweden international has established himself as one of the deadliest strikers in Europe since joining Sporting from Coventry City for a reported £21m in July 2023.
Across all competitions, Gyokeres has scored an exceptional 83 goals and has registered 25 assists in 91 appearances for the Portuguese giants, contributing with 40 goals and 10 assists in 41 games so far this season.
Gyokeres, who is expected to leave Sporting this summer, has unsurprisingly caught the attention of several top European clubs, with former Sporting boss Ruben Amorim allegedly ‘desperate’ to reunite with the striker at Man United.
Chelsea have also been credited with an interest and are known to be in the market for a new centre-forward, but both the Blues and the Red Devils have seemingly fallen behind in the race for Gyokeres’s signature.
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Gykoeres favours move to three PL clubs over Man Utd, Chelsea
According to Portuguese news outlet A Bola, the Premier League is indeed Gyokeres’s preferred destination should he leave Sporting in the summer transfer window.
The report adds that Gyokeres would prefer to move to either Liverpool, Manchester City or Arsenal over any other English club.
Should a summer switch to the Premier League fail to materialise, Gyokeres is said to have chosen Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are his preferred options outside of England.
Gyokeres scored his 28th Primeira Liga goal of the season in Sporting’s 3-1 home win over Famalicao last weekend, and after the match, the striker responded to speculation around his future.
“No, nobody has spoken to me,” the Swede told reporters. “It’s not something I think about or that is in my mind. Rumours, once more. My focus is on being here.”
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Sporting are under no financial pressure to cash in on Gyokeres as they have already agreed to sell highly-rated youngsters Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo to Chelsea for a combined fee of almost £60m plus add-ons.
Nevertheless, journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed on his YouTube channel that Sporting would likely accept offers between €65m (£54m) and €75m (£63m) for Gyokeres this summer.
Liverpool, Man City or Arsenal for Gyokeres?
Considering that Man City already have Erling Haaland on their books and have recently added Omar Marmoush to their squad, a transfer for Gyokeres to the Etihad seems unlikely this summer.
Both Liverpool and Arsenal, in particular, are set to pursue a striker ahead of next season, though, with the former believed to be eyeing up potential replacements for Darwin Nunez.
Mikel Arteta‘s Gunners are expected to prioritise the addition of a new centre-forward and Gyokeres is understood to be one name on their shortlist of targets along with Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
