But it’s not an auction, it’s more a game of chicken. We can see opening offers of same 15m - we have to decide a figure to accept or risk teams dropping out
if say we accept 17m it means the other teams are likely to bid 17m not trying to one up each other
Then we don't accept 17m! Not this early anyway. Once we get close to August of course then its a different matter! I have thought West Ham are a likely destination for a while, but I think the majority of PL clubs outside the top 8 will have him on their radar as of now and if we negotiate wisely I don't see why we shouldn't get £20m+ for him.
I think the issue of there being only one year on his contract has also been overstated. Been trying to think of a similar Championship scenario and saw that when Eze went from QPR to Palace he was in his final year too. Palace reportedly offered £12m at the beginning of August before eventually signing him for £17m on August 28th, so in that instance his value did not diminish the nearer the deadline came.
At the end of the day there are so many variables, and you are definitely right that it is a game of chicken, factoring in how desperate we are to sell/ how desperate are the buyers/ who will Gyokeres want to join/ when in the window do we want to sell him? I guess it is feasible he could still even start the season with us, which would then add further dynamics depending on how well he starts, and how poorly (and therefore desperate) some of his PL suitors might start their seasons.
