Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas has insisted that Viktor Gyökeres will face fines after he went on strike Saturday and refused to report back to preseason coaching.
ESPN reported on Monday that Gyökeres was near a transfer to Arsenal after a breakthrough in talks with Sporting. He has additionally been topic to curiosity from Manchester United this summer season, though they’ve prioritised a move for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo.
Sources instructed ESPN that Gyökeres had agreed private phrases with Arsenal over a five-year deal after the membership’s sporting director Andrea Berta flew out to Portugal for direct talks.
Nevertheless, studies in Portugal recommend that talks have since stalled and the drama replace got here on Saturday when Gyökeres didn’t verify in for preseason coaching.
Varandas stated Gyökeres’s determination might strengthen the membership’s resolve to carry out for his or her desired switch charge.
“We’re calm,” Varandas told Portuguese news agency Lusa. “Every thing will be solved with the closure of the market, a hefty high quality and an apology to the group.
“If they do not wish to pay Viktor’s honest market worth, we’ll be very comfy with that for the following three years.
“If the geniuses who’re devising this technique assume that this places strain on me to make it simpler for him to go away, not solely are they utterly mistaken, however they’re additionally making it extra sophisticated for the participant to go away.
“Nobody is above the pursuits of the membership. Whoever they’re.”
Sporting play Scottish champions Celtic in a pleasant on the Estadio Algarve on Wednesday.
Info from Reuters contributed to this report.