Coventry City could be set to be on the receiving end of another significant payment as Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea join the race to sign Sporting Lisbon forward Viktor Gyokeres, according to a report via TeamTalk.
The Swedish international completed a €20.5 million switch to the Portuguese side during the summer transfer window, after being the highest goal-contributing player in the Championship last season, beating Golden Boot winner Chuba Akpom in the process.
Gyokeres has had a more than impressive start in Portugal making 18 appearances so far this season and scoring 15 goals and providing an additional seven assists. This means he has contributed to 22 goals in 18 appearances or 1.2 goals per game.
He has also continued to impress on the international stage for Sweden, scoring an impressive solo goal against Belgium and has now earned 19 caps for his country, scoring five goals.
His impressive performances have attracted the interest of several interested sides, but Arsenal and Chelsea have now been told the price they’d need to pay in order to land the forward. This figure is £87 million, which is the player’s release clause and the Portuguese side is adamant that none of their players will be sold unless a release clause is met.
Due to clauses in the Sky Blues deal, Coventry City are in-line to receive roughly 10-15% of this £87million, depending on how many of the club’s add-ons have already been met. This means that Mark Robins’ side are in line to make an additional £8.7 million (minimum) on top of the £17.5 million they have already earned for the 25-year-old.
Gyokeres was in the final 12 months of his contract at the CBS Arena, which forced the Championship side to cash in on their star forward in order to rebuild their squad, which is something they have certainly done, although the club have four points less than they did at this stage last season.
Writer’s View
Gyokeres will go down as one of the best players to ever grace the Championship and Premier League clubs will be kicking themselves for not gambling on the 25-year-old when he was considerably cheaper.
However, the more he impresses – the more Coventry City will inherit from a future sale and given the Sky Blues’ current business model, this can only be another blessing in disguise as the money could help to land three or four new players for the Championship side.