There could be a few big striker moves happening this summer, and the domino effect could well include players such as Brentford’s Ivan Toney, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres.
The trio have all been on the watch lists of a number of clubs in the Premier League and around Europe, and interest in all three would appear to remain.
As to which moves first to start the ball rolling, that’s unknown.
Striker’s domino effect this summer says Romano
“There’s likely to be a lot of movement of strikers this summer as I’ve told you many times, but to be honest guys I have zero clue when the domino effect will begin because timing doesn’t depend on me or on journalists!” Fabrizio Romano said to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing.
“Clubs can make their plan at any point on timing, for now there’s nothing really concrete or advanced to say which deal is gonna be the first one to happen.
“Toney, Osimhen and Gyokeres are all players who could be part of the domino but we are not at the negotiations stage yet and I’m not going to invent stories.”
It’s important for clubs to understand firstly how much the selling clubs want for their players.
If they price them too high then they run the risk of not being able to sell them and then having an unhappy striker in situ for the 2024/25 campaign.
Moreover, any monies that could be put into club coffers to both help with Financial Fair Play and with squad regeneration will no longer be available.
Arsenal have long been linked with Toney though things have gone quiet in that regard of late, with West Ham emerging as a potential destination for the Brentford hit-man.
If he were to end up at the London Stadium rather than the Emirates, the Hammers will surely want to conduct their business prior to the Euros for fear of Toney having an excellent tournament for England and thus pushing his price higher.
Arsenal could end up brining in former Coventry man, Gyokeres, who is enjoying an incredible campaign this season. WhoScored note his 33 goals and 12 assists which has seen his stock risen immeasurably.
Victor Osimhen is believed to have a whopping €130m release clause with Napoli, with Chelsea often speculated as a potential destination.
The Blues would appear to be one of only a few clubs that could afford the 25-year-old, though they may need to offload a number of stars first in order that they don’t fall foul of FFP.