Gyokeres to Arsenal delayed by ‘extreme positions’ and ‘neither party trusting each other’

Viktor Gyokeres completing his move to Arsenal is being impeded by ‘the extreme positions’ of the Gunners and Sporting, with ‘neither party trusting each other’.

After a long-drawn-out negotiation with Sporting, Arsenal finally reached an agreement for the striker on Wednesday.

Arsenal have agreed to pay €63.5m plus a potential €10m in bonuses payments and the player’s agent has given up his 10 per cent cut, with the two clubs eventually ironing out differences as to how achievable those bonuses would be.

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Portuguese outlet Record reported:

‘According to our newspaper, the €10m remains “attainable,” but now for a longer period, the full duration of the contract. These objectives are related to the club’s individual and collective performance, in some cases combined—that is, titles or Champions League qualification only count if the player participates at least partially.’

Gyokeres was expected to fly in to London for his medical on Thursday before flying out to Singapore to meet his new teammates on their pre-season tour.

That didn’t happen, with that medical and signing of his contract now expected today after Gyokeres agreed to a five-year deal on around €150,000 per week.

And O Jogo claim the delay is in part thanks to ‘the extreme positions’ of the two clubs, who no longer ‘trust each other’.

The report states:

‘The Swedish international had the expectation of being able to head to London yesterday but without the sealed agreement between the emblems, the greens and whites calmed the rush of the 27-year-old scorer.

‘Lions and gunners, their respective legal offices, are reviewing drafts of the contract in detail. The extreme of positions in this operation has reached such a point that neither party trusts the other and therefore takes longer than normal of a task that is already normally time-consuming.’

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Still, Gyokeres will be an Arsenal player ‘barring a setback or… a coup d’état’ as Record describe and will imminently join the Arsenal squad, following centre-back Cristhian Mosquera to Singapore, whose £17m move from Valencia was confirmed on Thursday.

Reacting to the 21-year-old’s transfer, manager Mikel Arteta added: “We’re delighted to welcome Cristhian to Arsenal. As a 21-year-old defender, Cristhian has already performed consistently well with significant experience in La Liga. He is an intelligent player with good pace, who can play centrally and on both sides.

“He is a young player with exciting talent and enormous potential, who will fit well into our squad as we continue to prepare for next season. Cristhian adds good quality to our squad, and we look forward to working with him and making him feel at home with us.

“From all of us, we welcome Cristhian and his family to the club.”