- 20 hours ago
Arsenal warned striker on verge of ‘HUGE burnout’
Robin Bairner
- 9 Oct 2024 15:45 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal have been told that a potential January transfer target is on the verge of burning out after an electric start to the season.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been looking to sign a striker since the beginning of the summer but elected to be conservative in their approach in the transfer market and refused to spend more than €100 million.
This was the figure they were quoted for their main targets: Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres.
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STATS
Viktor Gyökeres
F (C)
Sporting CP
Viktor Gyökeres
F (C)
Sporting CP
Gyokeres has gone on to enjoy a stunning start to the season, in which he has bagged goal after goal for club and country, but he is now warned that he faces a “huge burnout” while on international duty with Sweden.
Record (via Leonino) reports that Jon Dahl Tomasson, the coach of the Swedes, plans to “squeeze” everything he can out of the striker given that he will have to do without Alexander Isak and Gustaf Nilsson.
Sweden, who are due to face Slovakia and Estonia in the Nations League, are also set to switch their tactical setup to play with a single striker as opposed to the 4-4-2 that they typically use.
Gyokeres in red-hot form
Gyokeres has already played more than 1000 minutes of club football this season, offering 12 goals and three assists to his team, plus two more strikes and an assist for his country.
While Arsenal and Chelsea baulked at Sporting’s insistence that the player’s €100m release clause must be met in order to sell him, that price is starting to look altogether more reasonable as the 26-year-old continues his blistering form.
Indeed, Sporting head coach Ruben Amorim has doubled down on his insistence that a nine-figure fee will be required to sell the player.
Gyokeres is under contract with Sporting until June 2028, so the Portuguese side continue to control his future, despite the player himself expressing some frustration at their high transfer demands.
