The Swede seemed pоised tо cаp оff аn incredible jоurney frоm the Chаmpiоnship tо the pinnаcles оf Eurоpeаn cоmpetitiоn. Fооtbаll plаyers dоn’t оften gо frоm Cоventry City tо Spоrting CP, but with Viktоr Gyоkeres’s success this seаsоn, а few mоre Sky Blues plаyers mаy be pressuring their representаtives tо mаke а similаr mоve in the summer. The Swede defied expectаtiоns аt the end оf the previоus seаsоn by turning dоwn Premier Leаgue mоney tо try his luck in Pоrtugаl. But if ɾumоrs аre tо be believed, Gyоkeres’ return tо Englаnd wоn’t be fаr оff. His gоаl tоtаl аt Spоrting is wаy tоо high fоr him tо be in the secоnd divisiоn this time аrоund. Rаther, аrsenаl оr Chelseа аre the teаms thаt cаll his nаme; bоth оf these mаssive Lоndоn teаms аre keen tо sign him this summer.

But he won’t come cheap. A top-tier No. 9 is now valued at an incredible €100 million (£86 million/$109 million) due to his release clause, but Sporting is rumored to be eager to raise it to €120 million (£103 million/$130 million) by offering him a new deal.

Is Gyokeres worth it considering these are enormous amounts, regardless of how you slice it? GOAL has examined his entire career to date in order to determine:

Gyokeres, who was born in Stockholm on June 4, 1998, started playing football with IFK Aspudden-Tellus, a minnow team. Following his impressive performance there, IF Brommapojkarna, who take great pride in being the largest football club in Europe in terms of players of all ages, took notice of him.

He rose through the ranks quickly, and at the age of 18, he made his senior debut against Graham Potter’s Ostersunds team. Gyokeres scored a ton of goals for the Under-19s and Under-21s, which kept him in the first team’s thoughts. By the time the 2015–16 season arrived, he had successfully made the transition to the senior squad.

But the following year was his real breakthrough campaign, as Brighton became interested in Gyokeres’ performances. He said goodbye to the Swedish team in style after the deal was revealed, scoring a hat-trιck on the last day as they won the second-tier title.

Gyokeres said he anticipated starting with the U23s after joining Brighton. “The club has stated that once I’m fully committed, I’ll work with the reserve team. This is mostly up to me, but I think of myself as an original U23 player. I don’t feel stressed, though. “You should concentrate only on where you are right now,” he said in an STV Sport interview.

Even though Gyokeres did shine in the 2017 European U19 Championship shortly before moving to Brighton, his forecast was also accurate. He managed just eight appearances in his four years on the south coast, all of them in cup games. Instead, loans to St. Pauli, Swansea, and Coventry aided in his development; it was during this latter stint that he had enough of an impact to persuade the Sky Blues to take a gаmble and sign him on a permanent basis.

The significance of Gyokeres joining Coventry cannot be overstated. He now had a house where he was the main man after years of stagnation in Sussex, and he was up to the challenge.

“Viktor is a gifted striker with a lot of potential, good power, speed, and movement. while his arrival was confirmed, manager Mark Robins remarked, “He showed a terrific attitude when he was with us on loan last season and made a real impression.” It didn’t take long for the Swede to begin repaying the faith placed in him.

In his first 11 Championship games during his first full season at Coventry, he scored nine goals. After a minor decline, he finished the season with eighteen goals across all competitions. In addition, he won two trophies during the club’s end-of-season celebration.

And the following year was much better. He increased his scoring pace in the 2022–2023 season, and his efforts were a major factor in Coventry’s surprising top–six finish. Gyokeres’s magic continued into the play-offs, when he set up Gustavo Hamer’s goal in the semi-final matchup with Middlesbrough, guaranteeing his team a meeting with fellow upstarts Luton Town at Wembley.

In the championship game, the two would team up once more, and Gyokeres would score from the penalty spot in the shootout as well. Unfortunately, Luton’s promotion to the Premier League was in vain; however, by now, Coventry’s star scorer had demonstrated that he was prepared to go forward, even if the rest of his squad wasn’t.

After his heartbreak at Wembley, he thought, “Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall.”

Gyokeres’s performances for Coventry attracted the attention of several elite clubs, and it soon became apparent that the Sky Blues would not be able to hold onto their star player. Despite having offers from Wolves and Everton in the Premier League, Gyokeres decided to go back to Europe and sign with Sporting for a €20 million (£17.1 million/$21.5 million) signing bonus.

“There were eight Premier League clubs that made concrete proposals to Coventry and me, which guaranteed more money, more commissions, and a higher transfer value than Sporting,” his agent, Hasan Cetinkaya, recently told Record about that transfer drаmа. The reason Viktor took this move toward Sporting was and still is due to Ruben Amorim.

There was pressure on him to impress right away because the cost was a club record. But Gyokeres has had no trouble living up to these high standards. The Sweden international is leading his team to win Liga Portugal for the first time since 2021 as of this writing, having scored an astounding 36 goals across all competitions.

Given that his release clause is currently set at an incredible €100 million (£86.5 million/$107.5 million), some Premier League teams that were interested in him throughout the summer will be cursing themselves for not making a stronger move to sign him. But what exactly is it about Gyokeres that makes them unique?

The most striking thing about Gyokeres, maybe, is his distinct physical profile. The 6’1 striker looks a touch gangly at first impression. But as soon as the ball gets close to him, he demonstrates his tremendous turn of speed and devious agility, proving that appearances may be deceiving. That being said, Coventry benefited greatly from his ability to operate as a target man due to his physical attributes and ability to jump, which he possesses.

From a technical standpoint, there’s also plenty to be excited about. He is an incredibly gifted finisher, as evidenced by his amazing goal record. He has continuously received excellent crosses from out wide and precise through balls for Sporting, rewarding his teammates with a high conversion percentage.

He has, on average, needed fewer than five shots to score in the league this season. In addition, he’s outscoring his predicted goals by almost seven, which highlights how excellent his finishing has been lately. Additionally, his 100% success record while taking penalties has added to his total.

Gyokeres has shown himself to be a formidable creative force this season in addition to being an attacking focal point and goal scorer. He must stay central due to Sporting’s 3-4-2-1 formation, but he likes to show off his exceptional passing by pulling into the channels and half-spaces whenever he can. With his incredible 15 assists, he has contributed more than a goal to his team’s score this season on average.

Gyokeres’ game is difficult to criticize because he appears to be excellent at everything needed to be a modern-day No. 9. The greatest doubt, though, that looms over him is the same one that looms over any striker who looks certain to make a major leap forward this summer.

More specifically, is he able to repeat these kinds of performances in situations where there is more pressure, a stronger opponent, and a greater stake? Gyokeres appears to do best in environments with slightly brighter lighting, at least according to some available data.

Along with playing well in all three of Coventry’s play-off matches from the previous season, he scored goals against Young Boys in both of Sporting’s Europa League play-off round matches, against Benfica in the Taca de Portugal semifinals, and against Porto in a historic league triumph back in December.

But he did draw blanks in every match as Sporting was destroyed by Atalanta in Europe, and he has only scored six goals in 20 games for Sweden. It’s also reasonable to аrgue that Gyokeres would face a degree of expectation greater than anything he has ever faced in his career if he were to move to the Premier League.

Because Gyokeres is an unknown quantity, any club signing him would be taking a bit of a rιsk, even though it is true that he has earned a big-money move at the conclusion of the season.