Manchester United made a last-ditch effort to sabotage the deal, so Arsenal’s inability to reach an agreement with Sporting Lisbon for Viktor Gyokeres could backfire. The Gunners may have opened the door for their Premier League opponents by negotiating with Sporting for a while over the terms of Gyokeres’ transfer price.

The Swedish striker’s relationship with his present club has grown more acrimonious, and Gyokeres is eager to leave Sporting during the summer transfer window. The former Coventry player seemed to have gotten what he wanted when Arsenal selected him over Benjamin Sesko after he threatened to go on strike.

Last Saturday, it was revealed that Sporting and Arsenal had verbally agreed to a deal for £8.6 million in bonuses and add-ons, in addition to the initial £55 million. However, a complete deal has not yet been reached despite ongoing talks between Sporting leaders and Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta.

The deal’s structure is the main source of contention, and because of the delays, Arsenal has not been able to sign Gyokeres in time for their Asia preseason tour. With Portuguese media delivering a bombshell on Sunday, this could potentially turn into something more serious, even though it seemed like only a bump in the road on Gyokeres’ journey to north London.

According to SIC, Arsenal’s contract is “increasingly at risk.” They claim that because Gyokeres’ agency renounced his €6.5 million (£5.6 million) commission, Arsenal’s fixed offer, which was set at €63.5 million (£55 million), now stands at €70 million (£60 million). Furthermore, Sporting cannot tolerate that inflexible organization.

According to the record, United has now put a new bid of between €70 and €80 million (£60 and £69 million) on the table. Gyokeres, who played for Sporting under Ruben Amorim, is still exclusively interested in joining Arsenal, according to the publication, but the transfer drama is still unpredictable.