Liverpool handed potential boost over £86m-linked forward after transfer clause deal and club statement

Liverpool have reportedly joined the race to sign Viktor Gyokeres. According to Football Insider, the Reds are in the fray to sign the Sporting CP forward in the summer transfer window.

Arne Slot is yet to bolster his squad since becoming head coach but revealed he would be surprised if that remains the case before the window shuts next month.

Gyokeres was linked with Liverpool earlier this year and they have now resurfaced. The Sweden international enjoyed a barnstorming 2023-24 campaign for Sporting after joining from Championship side Coventry last summer. He plundered 43 goals and 15 assists in 15 games as the Lions won the Portuguese title.

Gyokeres reportedly has an £86 million release clause installed in his Sporting contract, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur suggested to court the ex-Brighton marksman.

Coventry have a sell-on fee of 15% should Gyokeres be sold. However, publication Record has revealed that the Portuguese champions have paid the Sky Blues £1.7 million to reduce that figure to 10%. It means that Sporting, whose head coach Ruben Amorim was linked with taking over from Jurgen Klopp in the Liverpool hot seat, would be able to keep a larger share of the cash they receive if Gyokeres is sold.

A statement from Sporting reads: “SPORTING CLUBE DE PORTUGAL (hereinafter Sporting SAD) informs, under the terms and for the purposes of complying with the information obligation arising from the provisions of Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April, that the percentage of the capital gain resulting from a future transfer of the player Viktor Einar Gyökeres attributed to Coventry, under the terms and conditions disclosed to the market by press release dated 13 July 2023, was reduced from 15% to 10% due to the achievement of the contractual objectives in the amount of €2,000,000 (two million euros) and, also, the exercise of the corresponding option by Sporting SAD for the amount of €1,000,000 (one million euros).”

It remains to be seen if the Reds are in the market for an out-and-out striker. They already have Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota as options.

However, Gakpo could be switched to the left flank, having played a talismanic role to help the Netherlands reach the semi-finals of Euro 2024 as he scored three goals. Jota, meanwhile, is capable of playing in all three attacking positions.

Slot has also revealed that he can see Nunez fitting into his style of play. The Uruguay international has had an up-and-down period since signing from Benfica two years for what could become a club-record fee of £85 million and was linked with Barcelona earlier this summer.