Arsenal sign Viktor Gyokeres and go from being worth less than half a million to £55m

Arsenal and Sporting have "agreed in principle" on the transfer of Viktor Gyokeres, with the North London club paying £55 million (€63.5 million) plus £8.9 million (€10 million) in add-ons to secure the Swedish striker for the next five years.

Gyokeres is one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe this summer after scoring 54 goals in 52 appearances for Sporting in 2024/25. Under new sporting director Andrea Berta, Arsenal have been chasing the 27-year-old from early on and the player himself only wants to come to the Emirates.

Complicating matters is that Gyokeres' side claim there was a 'gentleman's agreement' with Sporting president Frederico Varandas, allowing him to leave for €60m (£50.8m). However, Varandas denies this, leading to Gyokeres refusing to return to the team in time for pre-season.

Gyokeres left Sporting after scoring 97 goals in 102 games in all competitions.

To speed up the deal, Gyokeres’ agent agreed to reduce his own commission, allowing Arsenal to pay no more while Sporting still received the desired amount. Both parties were happy with this solution, and only a few minor adjustments to the additional payments were needed to reach the final agreement.

At £55m, Gyokeres has made a remarkable leap forward from his initial move to England six years ago, when he was valued at just £416,000. That was in early 2018, when the Swedish striker left his start-up club Brommapojkarna to join Brighton, where he did not make a Premier League appearance in four seasons.

At that time, Gyokeres was too young and was considered not good enough for the top league in the foggy country. To gain experience and improve himself, he was sent to St. Pauli in the German 2nd division, Swansea City and Coventry City in the Championship (2nd division of England). Until the summer of 2021, when Coventry bought him outright, Gyokeres's valuation was still under 1 million pounds (850 thousand).

Having enjoyed two brilliant seasons at the West Midlands club, scoring 38 goals in 91 Championship games, Gyokeres was bought by Sporting in the summer of 2023 for a club-record £17.4 million. This figure is much higher than Transfermarkt 's valuation (£10.8 million), given that he does not play in Europe's top five leagues.

However, it wasn’t long before Gyokeres’ value began to skyrocket. Scoring on his Primeira Liga and Europa League debut, coupled with an impressive run of form, by the end of September 2023, Sporting’s new signing was valued at £26.7m.

By the end of December of the same year, it would have cost £37.5m to buy him. And when the 2023/24 season ends, with 43 goals in 50 games in all competitions, Transfermarkt believes Gyokeres should be worth £54.2m.

When he first arrived in England, Gyokeres was valued at less than half a million pounds.

After a stellar 2024/25 season, the valuation has risen to £65m. Arsenal can be happy with the actual amount they paid for a top-class striker. Mikel Arteta's side have been without a true striker for much of the 2024/25 season due to injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

They finished second in the Premier League for the third consecutive season, 10 points behind champions Liverpool, and scored just 69 goals, with none of their 16 goalscorers reaching double figures.

As well as possessing a thunderous long-range shot and the ability to score from inside the box, turning half-chance chances into goals, Gyokeres is also known for his explosive pace, directness and constant movement at high intensity. He would certainly be a great addition to the Gunners’ jigsaw, alongside new signings Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, winger Noni Madueke and defender Cristhian Mosquera.

The 2025/26 season will be one to look forward to at Arsenal, and they will hope to make a similar leap as Gyokeres did with his valuation.