Chelsea Are Currently Leading The Race To Sign Victor Gyokeres
When Coventry City let Victor Gyokeres go at the start of the season, they may not have been able to predict his amazing rise to stardom in such a short amount of time. The Swedish striker has become one of the most highly sought-after strikers in the whole of Europe since his switch to the Portuguese League with Sporting CP, and he could return to England for a lot more than he left this summer.
Chelsea’s issues at centre-forward have been well documented over the last number of seasons, although Nicolas Jackson’s good form this season is going some way towards restoring the reputation of a Chelsea number nine. The club are however, still in the market for a centre-forward this summer, and Gyokeres is believed to rank highly on the list of potential signings internally at Stamford Bridge.
Romelu Lukaku is unlikely to be part of Chelsea’s plans when he returns from his loan deal at Roma in the summer, and they will be expected to sell the Belgian on for a fee. It’s unlikely, however, that the fee will come anywhere near the £97.5 million they spent on him in 2021.
Chelsea ‘Leading Race’ For Gyokeres:
As reported by Record Portugal, Chelsea are leading the race to sign Victor Gyokeres as the summer window approaches. They are said to have reinforced their interest in the striker recently and remain in pole position to win the battle to sign him this summer.
Chelsea were previously linked to Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, and it remains that way, but there is a belief the Nigerian striker could instead join PSG as a replacement for Kylian Mbappe. Gyokeres has scored 22 goals and contributed 10 assists in 24 games this season in Liga Nos, making him one of the most prolific forwards on the continent of Europe.
Arsenal have also been linked to the striker in recent weeks, with a €100 million release clause set to be in his contract. The last time Chelsea and Arsenal battled over the signature of a player, Chelsea won the battle, signing Mykhailo Mudryk last January, although reports that have come out since suggest Mudryk preferred a move to Arsenal over the blue side of London.
Chelsea have reportedly had scouts watch a number of games that Gyokeres has played in recent months, and it’s hard to imagine they weren’t impressed by what they were seeing before their eyes. The Blues will need to bring some goals into the side if they are to improve and move up the table next season, and if Osimhen is not available, there are few better options than the Sporting striker around.
Ivan Toney is a name that has been closely linked to Chelsea for some time, with the 28-year-old set to leave Brentford this summer. The feeling at the moment is that Arsenal lead the race for the forward, with Gyokeres likely being the second choice for Mikel Arteta’s side if they are unable to land a deal for Toney. He has a current market value of around €50 million, but it is expected that the price will rise when the summer comes.
There has yet to be any sort of contact from Chelsea, with that expected to come a bit closer to the end of the season. European football could be a stop-gap in Mauricio Pochettino’s side winning the race, with the current likelihood of even the Europa Conference League very slim. The side from Stamford Bridge sit 11th in the table, three points off a European place, but could qualify for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup.