Arsenal are reported to be quibbling over as little as €2.5 million (£2.17 million, $2.9 million) in the ongoing negotiations to sign Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyökeres.
After finishing second in the Premier League for the third year running, the Gunners have spent big this summer to bring in Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martín Zubimendi and Christian Nørgaard.
That outlay is expected to exceed £120 million ($160.8 million) with the imminent arrival of Noni Madueke from Chelsea and £17.3 million ($23.2 million) acquisition of Valencia’s Cristhian Mosquera still to be banked. Even before the Gyökeres deal is completed, spending will almost hit £200 million ($268 million).
But Gyökeres is still further away from becoming an Arsenal player than either Madueke or Mosquera. The total package fee will be €73.5 million (£63.6 million, $85.3 million), although the exact nature of a final add-on within that overall figure is yet to be agreed.
From Portugal, Record reports what will trigger the last €2.5 million add-on is the problem.
Both clubs appear happy with 97% of the structure. Of the overall amount, €63.5 million (£55 million, $73.7 million) is guaranteed to Sporting and the €10 million (£8.7 million, $11.6 million) worth of add-ons is agreeably split into four conditional payments.
The first would be triggered if Gyökeres plays 20 games in his first season with Arsenal, with another such payment for the same achievement in his second year. There is also a €2.5 million payment for Champions League qualification. Record notes that Sporting want the final €2.5 million add-on to take the form of a second 20-game block in the second season, triggerable if Gyökeres reaches 40 appearances for Arsenal during 2026–27. That is where the Gunners are digging in.
While Sporting are seeking four easily achievable add-ons, Arsenal reportedly want that last one to be linked to something more difficult. The report doesn’t disclose any suggestions from their side of the table as to what it should be, but it’s not uncommon for big transfers to include incentives for winning a major trophy, such as the Premier League or Champions League, or even the Ballon d’Or.
That difference of opinion over €2.5 million attached to a single conditional add-on is seen as the only thing that is now holding up the overall deal from moving towards completion.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres Deal Is Taking So Long: Sporting’s Demands ‘Revealed’.