Arsenal seal £55 million Viktor Gyokeres deal, expect him to join team in Hong Kong
Premier League club hope Viktor Gyokeres can finally solve lack of firepower upfront and bring silverware back to North London
Arsenal have finally solved their striker conundrum by completing the £55 million (US$73 million) signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon, and fans in Hong Kong could be among the first to see him in action for his new side.
The 27-year-old, who fired Sporting to the title last season with 39 goals and netted a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City, is understood to have signed a five-year deal at the Emirates.
Gyokeres’ transfer, which could end up costing the North London club as much as £64m with performance-related add-ons, takes Arsenal’s close-season spending to the region of £200 million.
The Sweden international will be expected to meet up with his new teammates in the Gunners’ ongoing pre-season tour of Singapore and Hong Kong.
Arsenal face Newcastle in the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday ahead of the concluding game of their tour, against Tottenham in Hong Kong on July 31.
Gyokeres, who was in the Sporting team beaten 5-1 by Arsenal last season, told the club’s website: “I just felt that it was the right club for me, [from] what I heard from Mikel and [sporting director] Andrea [Berta] when I was speaking with them, and just what I’ve seen in the past years, how they’ve been playing football.