Barcelona 'put plan in place' to beat Arsenal to Viktor Gyokeres transfer

Barcelona are reportedly laying out a strategy to secure the signature of Sporting Clube de Portugal's star striker Viktor Gyokeres, despite interest from Arsenal.

The Swedish forward has been in sensational form since his move from Coventry City to Lisbon just a year ago, netting an impressive 67 goals in 69 appearances for Sporting. Alongside Barcelona, Manchester United, Man City and Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked with the prolific goalscorer.

According to Spanish publication Sport, Barcelona view Gyokeres as the 'ideal successor' to Robert Lewandowski, whose future is currently uncertain. The report suggests that Barca are prepared to table a bid close to €70million (£58m) for the 26-year-old, but would allow him to stay at Sporting for another season.

Despite a €100m (£83m) release clause in his contract, it's thought that Sporting would be open to negotiations around the €60-70m (£50-58m) mark. While Ruben Amorim has ruled out bringing any of his former Sporting players to Old Trafford in January, United could potentially be in pole position for a summer move, thanks to their manager.

The Portuguese manager was pivotal in Gyokeres' decision to join Sporting, as confirmed by his agent Hasan Cetinkaya: "Everyone paid more to Viktor, everyone paid a higher commission to the agent.

"What happened? I brought him to Sporting because of Ruben Amorim, because I know his work and his work with the players. I chose Ruben because he is a coach of another level.

"And, yes, it will be more difficult for Viktor to stay if Amorim leaves Sporting because Viktor came precisely because of Ruben. The day we met, we told Ruben: 'here's my boy, he came to Sporting because of you.'"

Meanwhile, Gyokeres shared that he's not dwelling on what the future holds, stating: "It's not something I'm thinking about. I want to finish the season at Sporting, I'm enjoying playing there. I'm in no rush to make a change in the future. We'll see when the time comes for that."

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