Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta holds face-to-face talks with Sporting CP in Lisbon as Gunners close in on Viktor Gyokeres signing

The group is assumed to have included sporting director Andrea Berta, who joined the Gunners in March to replace the departed Edu Gaspar. CNN Portugal reports that talks marked a "decisive step forward" and that Arsenal officials left Lisbon with "almost everything lined up" for a transfer.

Arsenal are also believed to have agreed personal terms with Gyokeres, which, combined with the latest information, points increasingly towards a deal becoming a reality. The expected transfer package between the clubs is set to be worth €80 million (£68.9m; $93.7m) overall, but the lack of a total agreement at this stage is down to how much is guaranteed and how much is a triggerable add-on. They could be as little as €5m apart.

Despite the Gyokeres saga being fraught at times, it has also been reported in Portugal this week that Sporting have allowed him to delay his return for pre-season. That extra time could be all he and the clubs need to arrange and finalise everything with regard to his transfer.

After two years in Portugal, former Brighton and Coventry man Gyokeres could be back in English football sooner rather than later. He is likely to miss the formal start of Arsenal's pre-season training later this week, with an optional camp in Spain taking place before then. But with the pace of recent developments, it doesn't feel out of the question that the Swede is involved on the tour of east Asia, where the first friendly against AC Milan is scheduled for July 23 in Singapore.