Viktor Gyokeres' preferred move between Arsenal & Chelsea revealed | OneFootball

Europe's most in-demand striker, Viktor Gyokeres, is said to favour a move to Arsenal rather than Chelsea - but the Blues are confident they can convince Sporting CP to once again do business, a report in Portugal has claimed.

Chelsea have struck up a strong working relationship with the defending Portuguese champions in recent weeks. The west London outfit secured an early deal for Sporting midfielder Dario Essugo a matter of days after outmanoeuvring Manchester United to snap up Geovany Quenda last month.

United ultimately lost out in the race for Quenda as Chelsea were willing to loan the teenager back to Sporting for the 2025/26 campaign. The Lisbon side have effectively accepted that Gyokeres will be moving on this summer, but his destination is as yet undecided.

A Bola claim that Gyokeres would favour a move to Arsenal over Chelsea without offering an explanation. However, the Portuguese publication goes on to stress that the Swedish striker hasn't entirely ruled out rocking up at Stamford Bridge.

Viktor Gyokeres doesn't have nearly enough fingers to show how many goals he's scored this season / Gualter Fatia/GettyImages

By maintaining close contact with the situation, Chelsea supposedly hope to enjoy the same success they had with the aforementioned deal for Quenda; namely, giving in to more of Sporting's demands than their rivals.

One of the clear stipulations set out by the Lisbon outfit is a minimum asking price of €70m (£60m). Sporting are said to be increasingly confident that they can inspire a competitive auction for their prolific frontman and are hopeful of extracting as much as €100m (£85.7m).

Gyokeres' imperious scoring record gives him an array of options this summer. The one-man swarm took his seasonal tally to a frankly ridiculous 56 goals in 52 games for club and country with his sixth hat-trick of the campaign on Friday evening. The former Brighton and Coventry forward is said to favour a club that offers Champions League football - which has prompted multiple reports to claim that Manchester United's chances of signing the burly front man hinge of a Europa League triumph.

Chelsea themselves are by no means guaranteed a spot in next season's elite European club competition. Enzo Maresca's side have suffered an untimely dip in form just as the race to finish in the Premier League's top five heats up. Newcastle United, Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa are all competing with Chelsea for the three places below Liverpool and Arsenal.