Gyokeres rules out one transfer after Arsenal update and huge Man Utd U-turn

Viktor Gyokeres has spoken about his preference for a new club this summer amid speculation the Swedish striker is about to swap Sporting Lisbon for a Premier League club

Viktor Gyokeres says he wouldn’t consider moving to a Nordic country this summer, having grown used to the climate in Lisbon. Gyokeres is poised to leave Sporting Lisbon in a high-profile transfer and speculation continues to swirl over his potential destination.

The 26-year-old scored 53 goals and contributed 13 assists in 51 games in the 2024/25 season, helping Sporting win the league and cup double. His prolific goalscoring has prompted lots of interest, with Arsenal understood to be at the front of the queue.

The Gunners are weighing up a £60million move for the Sweden international, who would command over £200,000 per week, with the idea of signing RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko instead. Manchester United are also keen on Gyokeres, who previously worked under manager Ruben Amorim at Sporting.

It had previously appeared as though Gyokeres would not move to Old Trafford due to their lack of Champions League football next season. But that factor is now being downplayed, opening up a potential reunion with Amorim at United next season.

One thing is for sure: Gyokeres does not want to move back to Sweden. “After living in a warm country, it would be difficult,” he said in an interview with Swedish Vogue, in which he spoke about enjoying the culture of Portugal.

“In Sweden, people work hard during the week and only socialize on the weekends. Here there is more life during the week. They have dinners with friends, a glass of wine on Monday. I like that.”

Gyokeres pulled out of the Sweden squad to face Hungary and Algeria in friendlies this week, prompting speculation he is sitting out to avoid injuries before a transfer. But manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has rejected that suggestion.

"No! He felt a small injury and our medical team was already aware of it and we decided, together, to release him," Tomasson said. "I spoke to Viktor last week. He hasn’t trained much in the last few weeks and was feeling some discomfort because of a small injury.

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"I was happy to see him and have him with us in this training camp. It says a lot about Viktor, how much he wants to get involved. We're thinking about it [a replacement] and need to talk more about it. In a perfect world, we have all players available."

Gyokeres himself has been tight-lipped on his plans. Asked about his future after Sporting’s final game of the season, he said: “Let's see. 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.”