Arsenal target Gyokeres pulls out of Sweden squad as transfer 'wish' emerges

Viktor Gyokeres will have his future shaped in the coming weeks of the summer transfer window, with Arsenal among the clubs chasing the Sporting Lisbon goal machine

Viktor Gyokeres has pulled out of the Sweden squad for their upcoming matches amid fevered speculation over his future. Gyokeres finished his season with Sporting Lisbon with two medals and is now poised to leave Portugal in a high-profile transfer this summer.

He racked up 53 goals and 13 assists in 51 games for Sporting in the 2024/25 season, helping his side complete the league and cup double. The former Coventry City star has been linked with Arsenal and Manchester United and is expected to move for around £60million in the summer transfer window.

Gyokeres was supposed to be involved with the national side, who face Hungary and Algeria in friendlies in the coming days. But he has pulled out of international duty citing a minor injury that requires attention.

In reality, it is likely that a cautious approach has been agreed with Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson and his coaching staff. Given his current situation, Gyokeres cannot afford to get injured playing in a friendly when the biggest transfer of his career is around the corner.

Gyokeres has remained fairly tight-lipped about his future, but did offer a small insight into his thinking in conversation with his former Coventry team-mate, Leo Ostigard. In a video call on the Flymodus podcast, when asked about Arsenal, Gyokeres said: "No, we will see. Nobody knows anything yet. I wish I had a more fun answer but that is all I can say for now."

Mirror Football understands that Arsenal believe Gyokeres will be theirs, so long as they meet Sporting’s asking price of £60m. The Gunners are happy to pay the 26-year-old over £200,000-a-week to secure his services, having lacked a top-class goalscorer in the past three seasons, when they finished second in the Premier League.

Barcelona have ruled themselves out of the race for Gyokeres, but United remain interested, especially after missing out on a £30m deal for Liam Delap, who is instead set to join Chelsea. United boss Ruben Amorim knows Gyokeres well from his time in charge of Sporting and would relish the opportunity to work with him again, although their lack of European football next season is an obvious disadvantage in negotiations.

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Gyokeres was asked about his future after Sporting’s final game of the season. “Let's see,” he said. “It’s hard for me to say, because yeah it is football and you never know what’s going to happen in the summer. So for me to say anything else than that is impossible.”

Asked specifically about Arsenal, he added: “I don’t know, I just focus on this. I’ve tried to focus on the last games because it’s so important and I don’t want to think about anything else. So yeah, if anything is true, let’s see in the summer.”