Sport
The thing about transfer sagas is that not all of them come to a conclusion. For those that don’t end in a move, it’s always interesting to see how a player reacts; whether their reputations continue to grow or they become a flash in the pan.
In the case of Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres, he’s already proven himself likely to be a wanted man next summer, after being heavily linked with a move to both Arsenal and Liverpool during the off-season. In his first Champions League outing this week, against Lille, he scored the opening goal in typically clinical fashion, adding to eight goals in just five Portuguese league matches for Sporting already. Last season, he top-scored for them on the way to winning the title, in his debut season. He scored 43 goals in all competitions.
The credentials for Gyokeres’ status as one of Europe’s most wanted are laid bare by his stats. But the tactical landscape of football is changing again, and returning into his favour. ‘Out and out’ strikers, who are traditionally tall, physical, powerful and lethal, have become less and less fashionable over the past 20 years or so.
The game has focused more on build-up play, and there has been a rise in goal-scoring wingers and withdrawn forwards like Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohammed Salah and Lionel Messi. Strikers have become a rare breed at the truly elite level, but because they are the most simple source of goals, they’ll never go truly extinct and will always be needed. Now the demand is once again there, thanks to the likes of Erling Haaland and Harry Kane dominating goal-scoring charts, but the supply remains short. Players like Gyokeres, despite not performing in one of the traditional ‘top five’ European leagues, are at a premium.
Ruben Amorim, his coach at Sporting, last week said that Gyokeres was worth €100m. It is hard to disagree with him. Arsenal were the club most heavily linked with a move for him, as they look to close the gap on Manchester City in the Premier League, and a move to the Emirates Stadium is far from beyond the realms of possibility in the future.
Although he’s not pushing for a move, the 26-year-old Swede was recently coy when asked about his future, albeit while speaking of his happiness with life in Lisbon.
“Good question. I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t work for the club or am a businessman. I’m not up to speed on that. It’s a lot, but I don’t want to go anywhere. I’m happy at Sporting, it’s not a problem for me to stay. My value is my value. Let’s see if something happens.”
It already feels like Gyokeres is outgrowing his surroundings. There isn’t much more he can feasibly achieve in Portugal; the next challenge is surely around the corner. But it also must be said that his rise has been fast over recent years, which may explain the reluctance to spend what Sporting want on him. Just two years ago, he was playing in the Championship with Coventry City, and although his goal record was excellent, nobody took the chance and he moved to Sporting in a record sale for Coventry, officially an undisclosed fee.
That meant he needed to prove himself last season, but nobody saw what happened coming. Gyokeres has skyrocketed into being one of the best strikers in Europe, and it only feels like a matter of time until he gets a move to justify that tag. Returning to England and gaining everyone’s respect would be ideal for him.
