Viktor Gyokeres 'faces disciplinary action' as Arsenal target ignores command

Viktor Gyokeres is reportedly facing disciplinary action after failing to report for pre-season training. Arsenal have been engaged in transfer talks to try and lure the Swedish striker away from Lisbon this summer, but Sporting are refusing to budge on their financial demands.

Gyokeres and his entourage felt they had a gentleman's agreement in place with club president Frederico Varandas which would allow the forward to leave for around £65million this summer. The Sporting chief has publicly denied that, and he is now believed to be holding out for a £68.9m total package with around £60.3m paid up front.

Sporting commanded their players to report for pre-season training at 5pm local time today (Saturday). But with a long-running transfer saga threatening to drag on for a while longer, Gyokeres has taken drastic action by going AWOL.

According to The Guardian, the 27-year-old is likely to be slapped with a hefty fine unless he can provide Sporting with a 'legitimate justification' for his absence, such as a medical reason or an urgent family matter.

But it is understood that the Sporting squad leaving for a pre-season training camp in the Algarve without Gyokeres has not come as a total surprise. Reports earlier this week indicated that Gyokeres had no intention of turning up, and he has told Varandas that he will not play for the club again.

The terms of a five-year contract have been agreed between Arsenal and the Gyokeres camp, and a move is expected to progress quickly if consensus can be reached over a fee between the two clubs.

In an interview with L'Equipe which was published today but believed to have been recorded in late May, Gyokeres said: "We'll see what happens. If something happens, it will. The most important thing for me is to play for a club that really wants me.

"[The Premier League] is one of the biggest leagues in Europe. I spent several years there [in England] without being able to play a single [top flight] match. So, of course, it's something I'd like to do. It would be great revenge."

Arsenal have been intent on signing a striker since the start of the summer transfer window, having finished second in the Premier League for the third season in a row. If a move for Gyokeres does not work out, it is thought that sporting director Andrea Berta could turn his attention back to RB Leipzig marksman Benjamin Sesko.