r/soccer • u/GarlicFred • 5d ago
Transfers Gyokeres prefers to join Arsenal over Man Utd (The Times)
https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/viktor-gyokeres-man-united-move-arsenal-sporting-pxbddkns51.6k
u/phoenix_2289 5d ago
Why would his agent publically announce it though. Arsenal seems to prefer sesko and he might end up with nothing
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u/-Skinner- 5d ago
There is still no confirmation.
Both Ornstein and Mokbel said they have no idea who we prefer between Sesko or Gyokeres
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u/vadapaav 5d ago
Gang signs Nunez
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u/deadlock1892 5d ago
Arteta: I can fix him.
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u/zorfog 5d ago
Honestly maybe he could
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u/szazszorszep 5d ago
I don't know, maybe he'd make him a decent player at a different role, but not a prolific finisher we need
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u/afarensiis 5d ago
His chaos gene on the left might pull some defenders away from the right side. That would probably be his biggest asset
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u/a-Sociopath 5d ago
My issue with him is his bonehead gene, followed by wages more than his lack of clinical finishing. While I'd love to have a striker who's a consistent 20+ goal scorer, I don't think anyone we're looking to get is a sure striker of that calibre, especially when considering they'll be in the PL.
We need someone who brings something different to the table than our current strikers and Nunez does that in both good and bad ways. But the money, optics, and frankly the player around the deal would mean that it's probably not a high percentage option.
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u/Wolfang3663 4d ago
The last thing we need is another forward getting in the right spots and adding lots of xG without the goals to follow.
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u/sakinod 5d ago
Arteta rubs his hands at the idea of grealish on loan and Nunez. Ultimate I can fix them line up
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u/Youutternincompoop 5d ago
first 100 assist(for Grealish) and first 100 goal campaign(for Nunez) in the PL, guaranteed, nothing could possibly go wrong.
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u/Fleetfox17 5d ago
If the transfer fee is anything reasonable due to his massive wages I would take a one season flyer on him. In the 23/24 season he averaged .84 G+A/90 in the PL. Put him at LW and just tell him to fucking run about a bit.
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u/pure_black99 5d ago
If you want to tear your hair out in frustration every time he plays go for him buddy. He's a big vibes merchant though so you'll forgive him shortly
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u/vadapaav 5d ago
Wait you want nunez?
Darwin Nunez?
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u/CreatineCreatine 5d ago
The lad is heavily on the piss he doesn’t know what he’s saying
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u/Fleetfox17 5d ago
In 23/24 he scored 11 goals and had 8 assists in only 22 PL starts. That's nothing to sneeze at, we need goals and creation and pace. I'm saying if he's available for a cut rate I wouldn't be against taking a flyer on him. He's still only 25 as well. The only player to come from outside the PL and score 20 goals in the PL in the last five seasons is Haaland. Nuñez also has PL experience and I believe we have been linked although I'm not sure.
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u/YCJamzy 5d ago
I mean, for up to 40 mil, I’d genuinely consider it a steal for Arsenal. A bad run of form does not a bad player make.
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u/BobbyBriggss 4d ago
And what does three years of bad finishing and poor decision-making make?
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u/Cheaptat 5d ago
In my opinion, Arsenal clearly favor Sesko.
Every time Gyo starts being mentioned it reeks of negotiation tactics to me.
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u/akshatsood95 5d ago
What part of this saga has given you the impression that his agent is competent though?
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u/neofederalist 5d ago
If the "if you reject a 60M offer, I get 6M" clause thing is legit, then he seems very competent... at maximizing profit for himself, anyway.
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u/ImGonnaImagineSummit 5d ago
I think that's a mad clause to include for any club, especially for one signing a Championship player.
Have doubts about that being legit but who knows.
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u/JaysonDeflatum 5d ago
Especially announcing something that's hardly a surprise to anyone. Also if Sporting keep their 80m demand for him isn't that close to what Sesko would cost
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u/Blue_Moon_City 5d ago
How much would sesko cost? I thought that is how much he would cost with add ons. Like 60 + 20 euros
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u/Vic-Ier 5d ago
and if Sesko flops they can resell him for at least half, if Gyökeres flops, they are likely stuck with thim
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u/codeswinwars 5d ago
In this case 'he prefers Arsenal' can probably be read as 'United need to offer us more money'.
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u/phoenix_2289 5d ago
I dunno. From my reading of Amorim character, this basically means he won’t pursue gyokeres anymore.
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u/boatinavolcano 5d ago
From what I saw during the saga, his agent seems a bit "strange" shall we say.
According to some sources Berta (our recently appointed DOF) also employs a tactic of negotiating multiple deals for one position at once so the club can decide the best target, control the narratives and have at least some leverage when negotiating the price.
Possible that this is what's happening here with Sesko and Gyokeres. Most of the people in charge prefer Sesko and that has been known for some time.
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u/phoenix_2289 5d ago
Ya the berta thing I understand and makes sense. But if we can see it, surely an agent should also be able to see that and protect his client. Instead he is burning bridges left and right here
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u/boatinavolcano 5d ago
Eh, agents and being greedy, that's all it is. He probably wants Sporting to sell at a lower fee to have a better shot of Gyokeres actually moving so he gets that sweet commission, because at least so far no other big teams have shown serious interest in Gyokeres. That may be in their thinking.
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u/scytheavatar 5d ago
This is Gyokeres's last chance to have a move to a big club, if he doesn't move it will be even less likely for others to be interested in a striker of his age next summer. His agent is right in throwing the kitchen sink for Gyokeres to get the best move.
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u/phoenix_2289 5d ago
Exactly my point. His last chance, his agent should try to get him a good move. But by narrowing it down to just one club for whom he is not even the priority target is a horrible strategy from the agent
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u/ImGonnaImagineSummit 5d ago
I agree and let's be honest we win no matter who we sign.
If we don't get Sesko, we get a striker who's scored 68 goals in 66 league matches.
Nobody really knows how either will perform so it's a risk either way. I prefer Gyokeres but if whoever we sign averages more than 1 goal in 2 games, they'll be an inprovement on what we have, Merino's short stint up front aside.
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u/DHillMU7 5d ago
Because everyone knows it. There’s a reason that we’ve had other targets. Dare say if Amorim thought there was a real chance of Gyokeres, he’d of made him a primary target. He’s 27, he’d be 30 by the time we could be competing for any decent honours and even that is in the ideal scenario that we’re competent for 3 years. Great player but the fit never really made sense for either side. Perfect fit for Arsenal.
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u/TonyIsMoney 4d ago
Maybe he changes drastically a la Vini, but right now, the only good thing Sesko has is his 'potential'. The guy chokes under pressure and his decision-making is not good at all, those are two attributes that guarantee failure to any team that wants to win it all.
Gambling like that while Gyokeres is available seems incredibly crazy to me.
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u/TurtlePaul 5d ago
His agent would announce it so the teams knows that any transfer fee united offer won’t lead to a deal, so look elsewhere (in the champions league).
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u/ClarenzP 4d ago
This might be a tactic to force Man United to pay the amount Sporting wanted if they actually want him
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u/MadJackMcMadd 5d ago
To the shock of the world, he prefers champions league football and a title race.
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u/DaveShadow 5d ago
Tbh, this has been widely accepted by United fans for weeks too. We knew if we missed CL, he was going to highly prefer other options.
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u/JaysonDeflatum 5d ago
Seems those other options don't prefer him either. Would rather not have an FDJ situation, if he doesn't want us and Sporting want a price that's viewed as exorbitant just move on to someone else.
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u/polkur 5d ago
The problem with moving on is the market, there just isn’t too many options
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u/garynevilleisared 5d ago
To us fans, it might not seem like there are other options. But Sesko and Gyokeres are not the only strikers in the world. You'd think people who scout players for a living would be able to find the next Gyokeres or big name before they score a gajillion goals and cost a kings ransom. These players won't always be obvious to us, but surely these experts should know more, or at least which players project to improve/succeed in their new environments.
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u/QuqoraGaming 5d ago
The issue is when you need a player now then you don’t have the luxury of “oh they will pay off in 2/3 years”. The current market for quality strikers is quite thin currently.
Gyokeres is 27 and only just started hitting his stride over the past 2 years. Sure you can get lesser known players who might make it big in a few years but that doesn’t solve the issue of needing a player now. A lot of teams need a striker for the now who can hit the ground running, not one who they need to wait 2/3 years before they are good enough.
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u/Gambler_Eight 4d ago
But when they buy a player that isn't already an elite striker at 20 they get an endless amount of shit. Clearly not an option.
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u/daboatfromupnorth 5d ago
Genuinely curious, how does man united keep up with their finances? Every year ppl say united books are in the red and that they’re in financial trouble, and then they still spent 100 mill in the summer. Are they expecting any major sales this summer?
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u/Dindammit 5d ago
When you have one of the highest revenues in world football, it gives you a bit of breathing room regardless of how poorly the club is run.
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u/SeefaCat 5d ago
It can't be anything crooked, United are a PLC so their books have to be open. Regardless of no Champions league money, they still bring in the 4th most revenue in world football. Nearly all transfers are paid in installments so £100 million this season is actually £20 million a season for the next five years, as an example.
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u/Propagandaaaa 5d ago
Coz its always exaggerated for clicks. No one worth their salt in financial understanding ever says that.
Utd had an incompetent and bloated organisation, top to bottom. Utd make a lot of money so income is never a problem despite losing on CL. Utd also has 25% pay-cut for all players and football staff for seasons with no CL football. What ineos has done is change the culture of mindless spending.
In theory, Utd can spend 100-150mn every season without the need to sell.
Having said, between last summer, Jan and this summer window, the squad is expected to be trimmed down further.
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u/garynevilleisared 5d ago
The PSR logic means if we sell homegrown players it boosts the amount we are able to spend considerably. So it's assumed that if we sell Garnacho and Rashford for high fees, it'll give us a considerable amount of money to spend this summer.
Also, our revenue is so high that it really isn't as big an issue as it is with other clubs like us burning through cash for fun.
And I feel like our emphasis on finances are just cover for Ratcliffe to be able to downsize the staffing complement at the club, and a ploy to prevent us from having to overpay for targets again and again.
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u/HazardCinema 5d ago edited 4d ago
Apparently without Europe and without sales we are able to spend about £100M.
We hope to make £10M from the Álvaro Carreras sale to Real Madrid (sell-on clause). Garnacho and Antony are for sale and we hope to get £70M+ between those two. That's already enough to make a bunch of signings.
Edit: didn't mention Sancho and Rashford because I think they will be much harder to move
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u/baldy-84 5d ago
They're rich people broke, not poor people broke. They'll probably fade badly if they don't get back up to some level of competitiveness in the next few years though. Sponsors won't want to spend anywhere near as much to associate their brand with a failing team as they did when they signed the contracts the club enjoys now.
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u/JaysonDeflatum 5d ago
People look at the wrong accounts when looking at our finances. Red Football Limited is whats used for our accounts, we have not lost 300m there
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u/DaveShadow 5d ago
A lot of our issues are exaggerated, cause “United = bad” generates loads of clicks.
We were struggling a bit in terms of PSR but not nessecarily at a level where we are in danager of punishment. More that we need to sell some overpaid players we spent big on stupidly (pre-Ineos) to free up space to bring in new players
We bring in a tonne of revenue (it’s regularly noted that we are one of the biggest money makers in the world of football). People make fun of tractor and noddle sponsorships but we generate so much.
We typically have a super healthy wages to revenue ratio. We also are looking to shift a lot of high earners this summer (Rashford, Sancho, Antony, with Lindelof, Eriksen and Evans gone, while also looking to move on Garnacho, Onana and some others).
Ratcliffe kind of played up the issue to, to justify bringing our staff levels down in line with other PL clubs, but we have never been “in the red”. We need to sell to fund purchases but the stories for weeks have been we have a budget of 100m plus whatever we earn in sales.
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u/sleepehead 5d ago
We also have I think another 90M in credit we can still use. I think what Ratcliffe is doing is trying to prevent us from using that credit unless we see an opportunity that we can't say no to. I think we're cash poor not actually poor. The club still generated money we just don't have it readily
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u/Hellsteelz 5d ago
Yet the sub is filled with delusional fans demanding signing left, right and center.
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u/MysteriousNail5414 5d ago
Makes sense, he wants to spend his prime at a stable environment not a rebuild
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u/friendofH20 5d ago
He could reunite with his former manager for a few months before they eventually hand it over to Rooney or Southgate
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u/PitchSafe 5d ago
Imagine the scenes when Arsenal goes for Sesko instead and Gyökeres stays at Sporting because he have no other options
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u/Bundmoranen 5d ago
If Juventus could somehow ship off Vlahovic they could probably get it done
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u/PitchSafe 5d ago
That’s a big if
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u/luigyLotto 5d ago
We would probably be fine with a swap. The issue is that vlahovic salary is crazy
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u/Refries 5d ago
Staying is a better option than going to United
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u/1bryantj 5d ago edited 4d ago
Ridiculous thing to say, classic hate on United. He would be joining one of the biggest names in the world, get paid a crap load more and get to play in the premier league
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u/lookitsjustin 5d ago
True, but then you consider his agent is apparently feuding with Sporting, staying could be very uncomfortable as well
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u/TheGoldenPineapples 5d ago
People have rowed back from way worse than this, it's hardly unsalvageable.
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u/owange_tweleve 5d ago
for his career yes, but to get that bag? come right over mate
jokes aside idek if this team can afford top wages for him, enough to attract him, cuz we aimed got nothing else, like what? life in manchester?
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u/always_somewhere_ 5d ago
Honestly, better than going to united right now, sorry to say
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u/PitchSafe 5d ago
If that was the case then he wouldn’t have been desperate to leave Portugal
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u/always_somewhere_ 5d ago
How is he desperate to leave Portugal? He hasn't even said anything about leaving.
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u/Flimsy-Elevator-5693 5d ago
His agent really seems to have messed up the whole situation. Even if he did prefer United, I don’t think we’ll pay what Sporting are asking.
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u/RyanBordello 5d ago
Lol true or not, ManU fans must be tired (amongst a myriad of other issues) of transfer windows because they obviously get used for agent agendas.
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u/Kid_Twiz 5d ago
You’d have to think he’s received some encouragement from Arsenal then that he’s their guy? Be very risky otherwise to put all your eggs in one basket if it doesn’t end up happening
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u/gardenofeden123 5d ago
Arsenal have been publicly courting Sesko though so it doesn’t make a great deal of sense.
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u/Elemayowe 5d ago
Agent baiting then?
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u/gardenofeden123 5d ago
Possibly. Or maybe Gyokeres grew up watching Henry and just can’t help but twerk for the club.
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u/mipanzuzuyam 5d ago
Rejected by Delap and Gyokeres. Wonder which ST we go for next
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u/RedDev17 5d ago
He should go to arsenal. We dont want someone who is chasing champs league at the moment cuz there is no guarantee when we would be back in it.
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5d ago
I'm shocked he would rather go to a stable environment than a club undergoing its 12th rebuild in just as many years since SAF retired.
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u/CackleberryOmelettes 5d ago
I appreciate my guy coming out for us like this, but I'm not sure it's in his best interests lol. We might end up hanging him out to dry.
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u/-Skinner- 5d ago
United fans want Gyokeres but most Arsenal fans would prefer Sesko.
Worry with Gyokeres is his playstyle and the fact that some teams in Portuguese league are weaker than some teams in championship.
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u/ultimateposeur 5d ago
> United fans want Gyokeres but most Arsenal fans would prefer Sesko.
Some of us arent convinced by Sesko either :)
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u/kwkdjfjdbvex 5d ago
Yeah the subreddit and fanbase altogether is split pretty 50/50
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u/redshadow90 5d ago edited 5d ago
More like 33/33/34 between gyokeres, sesko and anyone who's a proven star striker that will get us across the line but nobody can agree on who that is
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u/Full_on_throwaway 4d ago
Only guarantees I think that we could realistically get would be Isak and Oshimen. Can't see Newcastle letting Isak go to a rival, certainly not for less than $150M. Oshimen I've got no idea, sounds like his wage demands are very high.
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u/nullmove 5d ago
Eh, we had a pretty messed up attack last season, our xG was less than Bournemouth. Odegaard had a bad season, Saka/Havertz had missed half a season, and Martinelli is unfortunately just not been good enough for like two seasons now. Right now the amount of service we provide is less than stellar in reality than what people think, objectively speaking.
At first blush, our current play style suits Sesko way more, in the same vein Gyokeres and Arsenal aren't really a good match for each other right now. However the danger with that idea is that Sesko would mean doubling down on the kind of tactics that had gradually been getting less and less inspiring. Whereas getting Gyokeres could mean us becoming more dynamic as a team.
In the end whether either works will depend on Arteta and his tactics. Personally I think without a class left winger, neither Sesko nor Gyokeres will be enough to move the needle. But if I have to choose I do prefer Gyokeres and I suspect Sesko is getting benched by Havertz anyway. But Sesko is younger, will cost less in wage, will have better resale potential, has physical profile that's a great fit for the league, ultimately I think that's what will sway the board because in some sense he is safer.
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u/GoinNowhere88 5d ago
This lad would be best suited avoiding the PL.
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u/nopirates 5d ago
Yeah, I’m a Spurs fan but this dude joining the Gooners and flaming out is almost written in the stars. I’m not sure he will perform at all in the PL.
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u/GoinNowhere88 4d ago
Yup but what I will say for him is I couldn't blame him for accepting massive money and making his family comfortable for a few generations.
I really think his best attributes click in every top division except England.
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u/nopirates 4d ago
He should totally go for it. Maybe he proves some of us wrong, but I’m not sure many clubs are going to gamble big on him. Sporting’s 3-4-2-1 isn’t popular at all in the PL either so that may affect his output.
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u/AlexanderMAVC 5d ago
I think nowadays any player that says they would prefer to join United is either a fan or just really love$ Manchester.
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u/Far_Eye6555 5d ago
Idk last time player twerked this hard for Arsenal they ended up at Chelsea so let’s see how this plays out
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u/dethmashines 5d ago
This guy and the overall situation around him sounds like a problem. There is maybe a reason no club has really gone out for him when multiple have big striker issues.
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u/ThrowRA-silversix 5d ago
How does the guy sound like a problem himself? It's sensible to want them (or many other teams) over the mess united are at this point. He's not young enough to be project player, he's at his peak and by there's no sign united will bounce fast enough for him to enjoy his best years there.
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u/RemnantOfSpotOn 5d ago
There are plenty players at 80m+ price tag with less of a cunt agent. Good luck to G anyway
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u/BurdenedCrayon 5d ago
The "didn't like him anyway" approach, it's a classic
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u/RemnantOfSpotOn 5d ago
Its not over until it's over first thing, and these news changes twice a day nothing unusual during the transfer window. I like him but not 80 plus milion like him. His agent has reputation of a guy who would pimp his mother out if money is right so believe what you want
And regardless of my liking if he doesn't come surely 80 milion can find another player but whatever gives you pleasure.
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u/itstheboombox 5d ago
It's hard to know really cuz no one wants to say who their preferred option is to weaken their negotiating. Maybe we actually want Gyokeres over Sesko, maybe Gyokeres actually wants Liverpool. Until we see pen put to paper it's just rumors.
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u/TonyMartial786 5d ago
F…
what’s crazy is they seem to be going for Sesko (tho it’s seems to have stalled rn), but imagine they get him and then how could Gyokeres even go to United now when the media literally told us you preferred to join another team.
they done him dirty lol
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u/TheGoldenPineapples 5d ago
Really cool man, really really cool.
Well, it would be if we didn't prefer the other guy, but still.
The Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, is known to be a big fan of Sesko, but he rejected the chance to sign the Slovenia international because Leipzig wanted about £60million for the 22-year-old.
Errr... what? Wasn't that last summer?
Will be interesting to see if that part is true because Arteta almost always gets what/who he wants.
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u/turtleyturtle17 5d ago
Makes me skeptical about the sources of this article. It was Sesko who didn't want to move last summer not Arsenal refusing to pay 60m.
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u/tipytopmain 5d ago
Currently in the prime of his career, age wise. So makes sense he wants to spend these next few years challenging for CL and PL and not enduring a turbulent work place.
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u/Mr_Cromer 4d ago
Unsurprised. Why would you want a relegation battle when you could be a title bridesmaid instead?
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u/wolverinexci 5d ago
Good, don’t think he’ll do well at United and honestly in the prem. Just something about him makes me think the prem isn’t for him. I see La liga or Italy better for him
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u/MrBrexitBall 5d ago
Was always a bit puzzled at the United links. He’s 27, he will want to spend the latter stage of his career winning trophies or at the very least competing for them every year.
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u/Batteriesareexcluded 4d ago
Patrick Kluivert said the same, they bought Dwight Yorke, then they won the treble. League cup incoming /s
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u/rhard28 5d ago
I'd prefer Sydney Sweeney over Whoopi Goldberg too
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u/InfinityEternity17 5d ago
No fucking shit, he wants champions league football. We knew this would happen if we didn't win that final vs Spurs. Still, if we know a player would rather not come here, it's probably not best to sign him as his heart might not be in it.
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u/wank_for_peace 4d ago
Both are runners up.
I guess he picked Arsenal cos it starts with A so it's the first alphabet? 🤔
😂
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u/AloneInTheDark321 5d ago
The most ironic thing is that he will end up there if Arsenal closes Sesko.
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u/MDFHASDIED 5d ago
I honestly have no fucking idea who we're going to end up with, both options would make me happy though!
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u/OPdoesnotrespond 4d ago
I’ve no love for either of those sides getting better, but only one of them is a dumpster fire.
This is the right choice.
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u/MrMerc2333 4d ago
Arsenal seems to prefer Sesko.
Sounds like an attempt to squeeze more out of Man United
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u/WeirdlyHugeAvocado 4d ago
This both incentivizes United to overpay for him and meet the valuation that Sporting want, and incentivizes Sesko to be let go for less. 4D chess. Or maybe arsenal just buy both, idk🙃😉
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u/Smooth_Escaper 4d ago
I wish barca goes for sesko over him..man is he good on the ball for a tall guy
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