{"id":1967,"date":"2026-03-22T11:20:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T11:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=1967"},"modified":"2026-03-22T11:20:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T11:20:01","slug":"arsenal-prepare-opening-bid-for-viktor-gyokeres-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/?p=1967","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal prepare opening bid for Viktor Gyokeres replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div class=\"author\">\n<figure class=\"author-thumb\">\n                                                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-image-size=\"not_specified\" class=\"\" width=\"112\" height=\"112\" alt=\"Cameron Smith\" src=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/footballcritic\/miatgxl3mmf30nktvbwt\/w=112,h=112,quality=75,fit=cover,format=auto\"\/>                                                    <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<figure class=\"large-img\">\n                                                <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/afc8636e-c07f-48c5-298e-9adbc7806500\/width=1200,height=675,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 960px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/afc8636e-c07f-48c5-298e-9adbc7806500\/width=640,height=360,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/afc8636e-c07f-48c5-298e-9adbc7806500\/width=375,height=211,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 320px)\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-image-size=\"retina\" class=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" alt=\"Viktor Gyokeres, Arsenal\" src=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/afc8636e-c07f-48c5-298e-9adbc7806500\/w=1200,h=675,quality=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption><figcaption>\u00a9 IMAGO <\/figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Arsenal are reportedly preparing an opening bid worth \u20ac50 million for Bayer Leverkusen striker Christian Kofane.<\/p>\n<p><center class=\"p-1 light-grey-bg\">Article continues under the video<\/center> <\/p>\n<p>The 19-year-old caught the eye during Leverkusen\u2019s 3-1 aggregate defeat to the Gunners in the Champions League last-16, and Mikel Arteta\u2019s side are ready to launch a full pursuit of his signature ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.<\/p>\n<p>Kofane has scored seven goals and provided eight assists in 39 games for Leverkusen so far this season, since his arrival from Spanish second tier side Albacete, and his form is being closely monitored by a number of top clubs.<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona, Chelsea and Real Madrid are all rumoured to be paying keen attention to Kofane\u2019s progress in the Bundesliga, although Arsenal are determined to win the race for his signature following Viktor Gyokeres\u2019 struggles this campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The Sweden international has scored 11 goals in 29 Premier League matches since joining the club from Sporting CP, and Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez in recent months.<\/p>\n<p>Kofane has now been added to their transfer wishlist too and Arsenal are, in fact, already preparing a \u20ac50m offer for the Cameroon centre forward, according to <b>Transfers<\/b>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-md-12 p-0 d-flex image-container\">\n<figure class=\"article-image\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/65e2984a-b46d-48b8-3fa9-576175470a00\/width=1200,height=674,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 960px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/65e2984a-b46d-48b8-3fa9-576175470a00\/width=640,height=359,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/65e2984a-b46d-48b8-3fa9-576175470a00\/width=375,height=211,q=75,fit=cover,format=auto\" media=\"(min-width: 320px)\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-image-size=\"retina\" class=\"lazyload\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Christian Kofane, Bayer Leverkusen\" src=\"https:\/\/static.footballtransfers.com\/images\/cf\/image\/upload\/65e2984a-b46d-48b8-3fa9-576175470a00\/w=750,h=422,quality=75,fit=cover,format=auto\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><figcaption>\u00a9 IMAGO &#8211; Christian Kofane, Bayer Leverkusen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Christian Kofane to Arsenal?<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s reported that Arsenal have identified Kofane as one of their top targets for this summer, and they believe that he would suit Arteta\u2019s style of play and the physicality of the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>However, Leverkusen are eager to retain his services if possible and they remain in a strong negotiating position due to the fact his current contract at the BayArena doesn\u2019t expire until 2029.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Kofane, Arsenal are also interested in signing Inter Milan striker Francesco Pio Esposito, <b>as exclusively revealed by <i>FootballTransfers<\/i><\/b>however the Serie A giants are in talks to tie him down to an extended deal.<\/p>\n<p>The Gunners want to bolster their ranks in defence and midfield too, with Newcastle United duo Valentino Livramento and Sandro Tonali regarded as key targets.<\/p>\n<h2>Football transfer news headlines today<\/h2>\n<p><b class=\"arrowed\">Transfer Rumours: Man Utd deal guaranteed as Camavinga race explodes<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b class=\"arrowed\">Man Utd Transfer News Today: Advanced Anderson talks as Carrick confirms signing plan<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b class=\"arrowed\">Chelsea Transfer News Today: Camavinga race blown wide open as Rosenior reveals midfielder stance<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b class=\"arrowed\">Arsenal Transfer News Today: Green light given as record deal &#8216;aggressively pursued&#8217;<\/b><\/p>\n<h2>  The FootballTransfers app <\/h2>\n<p>Check out FootballTransfers&#8217; new app for all of football&#8217;s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.<\/p>\n<p>The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:<\/p>\n<p><b>\u2022Google Play<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u2022App Store<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a9 IMAGO Arsenal are reportedly preparing an opening bid worth \u20ac50 million for Bayer Leverkusen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}