Viktor Gyokeres is closing in on a blockbuster £63 million switch to Arsenal this summer.
The Gunners have been on the hunt for a striker in recent months and appear to have finally secured their man.
Andrea Berta whittled the shortlist down to Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko back in May, and progressed deals for both players before making a decision.
Ultimately, RB Leipzig were unwilling to lower their asking price for Sesko, resulting in the Swedish number nine becoming the first-choice option for Arsenal’s sporting director.
Gyokeres will now complete his move in the coming days after the North Londoners and Sporting agreed a deal worth an initial £55 million, with £8 million in performance-related add-ons.
Viktor Gyokeres’ agent waived commission fee to seal Arsenal transfer
After an initial breakthrough appeared to materialise over a deal for the prolific Swede, negotiations between Arsenal and Sporting for Gyokeres stalled.
Sporting were reportedly holding out for an additional €5 million, which the Gunners weren’t willing to pay.
After Gyokeres went on strike at the Portuguese club, something had to give to make the deal happen, with the bridges between the player and the Lisbon outfit well and truly burnt.
According to Ben Jacobs, the player’s agent decided to waive the significant 10% commission fee he was supposed to be owed in any potential deal, which allowed the two clubs to reach an agreement.
The removal of this fee has enabled Arsenal to pay the initial fee that they intended to outlay, while Sporting have received the funds they would’ve received had they held out for a more substantial offer.
Gyokeres will now become an Arsenal player and is expected to fly out with Mikel Arteta’s squad to Singapore later this week, once he’s completed his medical and the signing is made public.
Andrey Arshavin’s agent paid £1.2m to seal Arsenal move
Gyokeres’ agent sacrificing a significant fee isn’t the only instance in which a player’s representative has given up money to allow their client to join Arsenal.
In fact, Andrey Arshavin’s agent went a step further and agreed to pay £1.2 million himself to seal the Russian’s switch to the Emirates.
According to Football agent Jon Smith (in his book ‘the Deal’, via the Daily Cannon), Arshavin was in London on deadline day undergoing his medical, before Arsenal and Zenit St. Petersburg had agreed a fee, back in January 2009.
Zenit were looking for £15 million for the attacking midfielder, while the Gunners were only willing to pay £13.8 million.
With just 40 minutes remaining in the window and with both parties refusing to budge, Arshavin’s agent stumped up the final £1.2 million to force the deal through.
Arshavin, who has been described as ‘crazy’ by Emmanuel Adebayor in the past (via OneFootball), went on to hit the ground running in N5, scoring six goals in 12 Premier League appearances in the back half of the 2008/09 campaign.
After his agent repeated Arshavin’s entourage’s negotiation exploits, Arsenal will hope Gyokeres repeats the diminutive midfielder’s antics himself on the pitch in his opening six months in North London.
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