It is the only possible explanation as to why Arsenal are targeting a striker who has scored 53 goals this season as part of their plan to win some actual trophies
And it leaves us with only one course of action: transposing Sam Allarydce’s 2003 summer window in charge of Bolton onto Arsenal’s transfer plans 22 years later.
A simple enough and entirely plausible start, which absolutely will not develop into anything close to a theme.
Arsenal could sign Gyokeres as early as next week, although they might need to hold off the irresistible force that would be a Manchester United transfer hijack.
Gyokeres should leave Sporting this summer as a two-time league champion but the centre-forward will first want to navigate a pivotal weekend from which he could emerge with two more pieces of silverware
One is team-based, with close runners-up Benfica awaiting Sporting in the Taca de Portugal final. The other could be the latest in a long line of individual awards and depends almost entirely on Kylian Mbappe and Mo Salah bottling it on the final day of their respective league campaigns.
The points system used for the European Golden Shoe means that Gyokeres and his ludicrous 39 goals in the Primeira Liga this season are only just more valuable than the 29 plundered by Mbappe for Real Madrid. If the Frenchman scores a single goal against Real Sociedad, that would be enough to leapfrog Gyokeres.
Salah is also lurking as the only other player within touching distance, but he needs two goals against Crystal Palace to overtake Gyokeres, as well as a blank from Mbappe, to inherit the award from Harry Kane.
If Gyokeres holds on he would be only the fifth European Golden Shoe winner to move to the Premier League, although Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo returned to former clubs years after winning the gong and Henrik Larsson joined Manchester United six seasons after achieving the unthinkable with Celtic.
One is team-based, with close runners-up Benfica awaiting Sporting in the Taca de Portugal final. The other could be the latest in a long line of individual awards and depends almost entirely on Kylian Mbappe and Mo Salah bottling it on the final day of their respective league campaigns.
The points system used for the European Golden Shoe means that Gyokeres and his ludicrous 39 goals in the Primeira Liga this season are only just more valuable than the 29 plundered by Mbappe for Real Madrid. If the Frenchman scores a single goal against Real Sociedad, that would be enough to leapfrog Gyokeres.
This is the opportunity I need to resurrect my career,” the Brazilian said after one final difficult season in Portugal. “We have found a striker who is going to score goals for us on a regular basis,” added Allardyce.
Jardel left the Reebok Stadium after a single year in which he failed to score across seven Premier League appearances.
