Arsenal and Liverpool fans’ ears would have pricked up during Sporting’s title celebrations with an impromptu update on the future of Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swedish marksman scored his 53rd goal of the season in a 2-0 win over Vitoria Guimaraes, sealing the defending champions their 21st league title ahead of Lisbon rivals Benfica.
After the win the team headed straight for a victory parade around the Portuguese capital where one key player seemingly told fans Gyokeres is on his way out.
Pedro Goncalves was leading the celebrations at the Marques de Pombal monument where he paid tribute to the team’s top scorer and then made a throwback to huge cheers.
“They say we will never be three-time champions without Gyokeres… let’s see,” he said, before dropping the microphone.
The moment was a throwback to the same celebrations a year ago when Ruben Amorim said a similar line.
The now-Manchester United manager told the crowd: “They said that we would only win championships every 18 years, that we only won because we didn’t have an audience or that we would never be two-time champions again.
“We’ll see…” he said before also dropping the microphone.
Amorim left in November for Old Trafford and Gyokeres has since become the face of the team with an extraordinary 53 goals in 51 games, bettering his 43 last season.
Yet he looked a little sheepish listening to Goncalves’ comments, given that his future is the biggest subject for outsiders.
The former Coventry, Brighton and Swansea striker is heavily linked with a return to England.
talkSPORT understands that Arsenal will win the race for his signature, with rivals for the 26-year-old losing hope in their pursuit.
United were interested in bringing Gyokeres and Amorim back together at Old Trafford, but will likely have to look elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Premier League champions Liverpool are planning to replace Darwin Nunez up front, with Gyokeres a target alongside Benjamin Sesko and Victor Osimhen.
One person in particular at Liverpool who is likely well aware of Gyokeres is Mohamed Salah.
They Egyptian currently trails the Swede in the European Golden Boot race, an award he’s never won despite his incredible record-breaking scoring at Anfield.
Gyokeres has 39 goals in the league, 11 more than Salah and Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe on 28.
Yet because Portugal’s Primeira Lige isn’t one of Europe’s big five leagues, his goals are worth 25 per cent less than Salah and Mbappe.
Currently on 58.5 points, if Salah and Mbappe fail to get two more in their final two league games, Gyokeres will become the first player to win the European Golden Boot from outside of the top five leagues in 23 years.
