Sporting CP’s president, Frederico Varandas, confirmed that striker Viktor Gyökeres will incur fines for going on strike and failing to attend preseason training on Saturday. This development comes amid ongoing transfer speculation, particularly linking Gyökeres to a move to Arsenal.
Reports from ESPN indicate that Gyökeres had reached a personal agreement with Arsenal for a five-year contract. The club’s sporting director, Andrea Berta, traveled to Portugal for negotiations, which reportedly made significant progress. However, as of Saturday, discussions appeared to have stalled, coinciding with Gyökeres’s absence from training.
Club’s Stance on Transfer Negotiations
Varandas expressed that Gyökeres’s actions could reinforce Sporting CP’s determination to retain control over the player’s transfer. “We’re calm,” he stated in an interview with the Portuguese news agency Lusa. He emphasized that if Arsenal does not meet the club’s expectations regarding Gyökeres’s market value, they are prepared to keep him for the duration of his contract.
“If they don’t want to pay Viktor’s fair market value, we’ll be very comfortable with that for the next three years,” Varandas said. He also conveyed that the situation could be resolved through the closure of the transfer market, a substantial fine, and an apology from Gyökeres.
The ongoing situation has also piqued the interest of Manchester United, although they are currently focused on acquiring Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford instead.
Upcoming Matches and Future Implications
Sporting CP is scheduled to face Scottish champions Celtic in a friendly match at the Estadio Algarve on Wednesday. Varandas’s remarks suggest that the club prioritizes its interests above those of individual players, asserting that “no one is above the interests of the club.”
As the transfer window progresses, the pressure mounts on both Gyökeres and Sporting CP to reach a resolution that satisfies all parties involved. With the market dynamics constantly shifting, the next few days could prove critical in determining Gyökeres’s future and the club’s strategy moving forward.
