There are plenty of familiar names atop the scoring charts in Europe. Superstars like Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah are all pouring in the goals. Among those names, however, is an attacking Portugal making quite a name for himself in Viktor Gyokeres with Sporting. With 23 goals and two assists in all competitions for his club and another 11 goals and three assists for Sweden, his star is rising almost as fast as he can kick a ball.
While some strikers opt for finesse in their finishing, Gyokeres takes after somebody like Kane, he’s a player who can absolutely destroy a ball on the way to sending it screaming into the top corner with devastating precision. Though that’s not all he can do. He’s far from just a good finisher, which is what makes him so attractive to teams around the world. Gyokeres is quite involved in defensive pressing, while also ensuring that he gets his teammates involved in the attack as the kind of complete number nine that the modern game has begun to demand in recent years.
Brighton discover the Swedish prospect
Gyokeres’ form didn’t happen overnight, though. When he started his career, the Swedish forward wasn’t even a nine. Gyokeres came up as a winger before making the move from Brommapojkarna in Sweden to Brighton. He wouldn’t end up making actual appearances for the Seagulls senior side outside of EFL Cup cameos, but this did begin a number of loans ranging from St. Pauli in Germany to Swansea City. One move in particular really saw him begin to display his potential.
Gyokeres develops in the Championship
At Coventry City, Gyokeres helped the Sky Blues push for a playoff spot in the English Championship, scoring 41 goals and assisting 17 more across just over two seasons. Playing as a nine and on the wing, that was when Gyokeres began to turn heads. Succeeding in the Championship can be a litmus test for young strikers because not only is it a physical league, but because the league frequently plays games twice a week, that hectic schedule can prepare a player for European play.
Stardom in Portugal
Sporting was the team that ended up becoming the next step for Gyokeres and he has fit the team like a glove, rising along with his manager Ruben Amorim. While Amorim may be at Manchester United now, Gyokeres still has a challenge ahead to defend a Portuguese League title while also continuing his good run in the Champions League.
Behind his five goals, Sporting are well on track to advance past the league phase of Champions League, where he can continue to rise, possibly increasing transfer interest in him. He’s already one of the top strikers that teams are interested in, alongside Victor Osimhen who is on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli.
Can he be a success if he moves to a top league?
When considering the market, it’s hard for Darwin Nunez not to come to mind when thinking about Gyokere’s fit at the next level, both were prolific attackers in Portugal who straddled the line between out-and-out striker and attacking winger. And while they’re different players, their numbers in European play are similar.
Due to the system that Gyokeres plays in, he has been a more consistent chance creator than Nunez, but both players have outdone their xG in the Champions League. For Benfica, Nunez scored 11 goals from an expected goal total of 7.10 in European play for Benfica. Moving to Liverpool, those numbers did take a step back but he’s still been quite productive scoring 10 goals from an xG of 13.34 and is finding his feet under Arne Slot this season while Diogo Jota is injured.
Gyokeres’ numbers aren’t quite as gaudy as Nunez’s with 10 goals from an xG of 8.96, but that also means it isn’t as likely that he could regress. Age also comes into play as Gyokeres is 26, entering the prime of his career while Nunez was only 23 when he made the move to Anfield. The age and experience of leading his team to silverware and gradual improvement will prove to be beneficial when Gyokeres eventually does make a move.
Before that, his eyes will be on finishing out the season with Sporting well. Already on the right track, there has been a lot that has gone into making Gyokeres who he is and that’s one of the most effective strikers in the world.
