FOOTBALL – Coventry City set for transfer windfall although fee yet to be agreed as Viktor Gyokeres nears Arsenal move
COVENTRY City look set to receive a transfer windfall with former Sky Blues favourite Viktor Gyokeres in talks to join Arsenal.
Coventry sold Gyokeres to Sporting for a club-record £17.5million (€20m) fee with a further £3.5m (€4m) in potential add-ons in July 2023.
The Sky Blues inserted a 15 per cent sell-on clause as part of the original deal although Sporting paid a fee to Coventry to reduce the clause to 10 per cent.
According to Sky Sports, Gyokeres is in ‘advanced talks’ with Arsenal from Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon.
However, sources in Portugal have exclusively told the Observer Arsenal and Sporting are yet to agree on the fee and structure of the deal.
Sporting are holding out for at least €70m (£60.4m) up front while Arsenal have offered the Portuguese club €65m (£56.1m) plus a further €15m (£12.9m) in add-ons.
Released Coventry City prospect heading for date against hometown club after ‘impressing’ on trial
Coventry City transfer news from CoventryLive as released Sky Blues prospect impresses during trial game with League Two club
Released Coventry City midfielder Ryan Howley could find himself playing against his former teammates later this month after joining League Two Bristol Rovers on trial.
The 21-year-old Nuneaton-born player was let go by Frank Lampard last month after his contract expired at the CBS Arena, bringing an end to 15 years at the club, having come through the Sky Blues Academy from the age of six.
Released Coventry City midfielder Ryan Howley could find himself playing against his former teammates later this month after joining League Two Bristol Rovers on trial.
The 21-year-old Nuneaton-born player was let go by Frank Lampard last month after his contract expired at the CBS Arena, bringing an end to 15 years at the club, having come through the Sky Blues Academy from the age of six.
There is an obvious link with Rovers in the fact that former City coach Rhys Carr – who had a brief spell as caretaker manager in between Mark Robins being sacked and Frank Lampard being appointed – is on the coaching staff at the Memorial Stadium.
Two loan spells in Scotland with Dundee and Ayr United, as well as eight first team appearances for his boyhood club, have seen Howley already play 35 professional games.
He made his senior Coventry debut as a teenager in 2021 in a League Cup tie at home to Northampton Town under Mark Robins before making his league debut at Nottingham Forest later that season. The following campaign he featured in another League Cup tie against Bristol City before making four Championship appearances as the Sky Blues reached the play-off final. He was in the squad at Wembley as they missed out on promotion to Luton Town on penalties.
His most recent and final appearance for Coventry came in the League Cup in the 2023/24 season against AFC Wimbledon before joining Dundee on loan for the campaign in the Scottish top-flight. Last term, he spent the season back in Scotland in the second tier with Ayr United.
It is currently unclear whether Howley has flown out to Spain for the squad’s summer camp but, BristolLive report, he’ll likely have further chances to impress with four more friendlies to be played back in England, one of which is coincidentally against Coventry on Wednesday, July 23 at the Memorial Stadium.
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