Chelsea have to meet release clause to sign Viktor Gyokeres—Should they?

Chelsea have reportedly offered €85m for Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres in this January transfer window.

The Blues have a squad full of talented young players, but they arguably need one or two more proven customers to join the squad as well, with goals proving to be a particular issue for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. They are short of options up front at the moment and could certainly do well to sign a striker this month. And it looks like the Pensioners have set their sights on Viktor Gyokeres.

According to GOAL, Sporting CP have no intention of selling star man Viktor Gyokeres for anything less than €100 million, which is the release clause in his contract amid concrete interest from Chelsea.

Sporting CP splashed just €20m to sign Gyokeres from Coventry City in 2023. Since his arrival, the Swedish forward, 25, has been in rollicking form, scoring 20 goals and providing 10 assists across all competitions in 24 appearances. His prolific form in Portugal has not gone unnoticed, with several European clubs taking note of the forward.

Chelsea have taken a step forward in their pursuit of Gyokeres but Sporting have rejected their €85m offer, reiterating their stance that he is not for sale this month unless a club pays his huge buyout clause.

Viktor Gyokeres to Chelsea—Should the Blues trigger the striker’s €100 million release clause?

Mauricio Pochettino has not enjoyed the start he wanted at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea struggling in the Premier League. The West London club’s current ninth position sees them 14 points behind leaders Liverpool, and after spending heavily during the past summer transfer window, that is nowhere near good enough.

Of course, Pochettino has had to deal with several injuries to his first-team players, as well as his strikers being incredibly unproductive in front of goal. Thus, the Chelsea boss is hunting for options in the transfer market to solve their goalscoring conundrum. Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres has emerged as a target, with the Blues seemingly seeing their opening offer for the forward getting rejected.

That said, given how close their offer was to the release clause, there is an expectation that Chelsea will come back with a second offer soon. While this deal is going to cost an astronomical fee, getting a player of Gyokeres’ quality and age through the door could be worth it for the Premier League giants.

Gyokeres has already netted 20 goals and supplied 10 assists along the way in 24 appearances for Sporting CP, and his ruthless finishing ability could lift the productivity of creative players such as Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling. Palmer and Sterling have arguably been Chelsea’s two best players in an otherwise mediocre campaign, and they could form a devastating understanding with Gyokeres in the Blues attack.

Eventually, while it will cost the club a bomb to pull off such a deal, if Chelsea are serious about getting into the top four and qualifying for the Champions League next term, they should be making a statement and triggering Gyokeres’ €100 million release clause.