Viktor Gyokeres: Sporting Face Challenging New ‘Transfer Clause Standoff’ | OneFootball

A clause in Viktor Gyökeres’s contract that could make it difficult for Sporting CP to turn down offers for him that don’t meet their asking price is reported to now be active.

Gyökeres is no closer to securing a transfer, despite longstanding interest from Arsenal and ongoing links with Manchester United, where he’d be able to reunite with former boss Ruben Amorim.

The Swede has a €100 million (£86.5 million, $117.6 million) release clause, which if triggered automatically entitles him to leave without Sporting being able to stop him.

But friction between Gyökeres and his club has arisen over suggestions that he feels betrayed by their refusal to accept a fee as low as €60 million (£51.9 million, $70.6 million), amid claims there was a verbal understanding between the parties put in place last summer.

Gyökeres hopes to move on from Lisbon. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Sporting are willing to accept less than the full release clause, president Frederico Varandas openly admitted that, but reports suggest that the Portuguese champions are holding out for around €80 million (£69.2 million, $94.1 million).

There is a new development in the saga that could make an impact. A Bola writes about a clause that entitles Gyökeres’s agent to a payment worth 10% of any offer Sporting turn down in excess of €60 million. Arsenal are said to be willing to pay that much, but it could mean the Portuguese champions having to then pay out €6 million (£5.2 million, $7.1 million) to Hasan Cetinkaya.

The presence of such a clause is not new information, but the crucial detail is that it is now in play.

If Arsenal were to submit a €60 million offer, it would test Sporting’s resolve, knowing that rejecting it could cost them and having no guarantees of receiving a bigger offer. According to A Bola, if Sporting were to give Cetinkaya the obligated payout, it would prompt them to raise the asking price to the full €100 million amount, which in turn could deter Cetinkaya from claiming it.