Brighton flop to Europe's hot property - is Gyokeres ready for next step?

"I don't deliberation he's nan guy," Rio Ferdinand says of Viktor Gyokeres.

"I've watched him astir apt 3 times really, really closely. And 3 times I've gone: 'He ain't getting that opportunity successful nan Prem'."

Gyokeres has scored a phenomenal 97 goals successful 102 appearances for Sporting, besides contributing 26 assists for nan Lisbon outfit.

The Sweden guardant averaged much than a extremity per crippled successful nan play conscionable gone, pinch 54 successful 52 appearances.

Yet erstwhile Manchester United skipper Ferdinand is not convinced Gyokeres, who has been powerfully linked pinch nan Red Devils, is simply a bully fresh for his aged club.

Top clubs, however, are circling for nan erstwhile Brighton subordinate aft an outstanding mates of seasons pinch Sporting, wherever he played under United leader Ruben Amorim.

Sporting nine president Frederico Varandas says they person not received an connection for nan striker and they are besides not prepared to fto him time off for a rumoured 'gentleman's agreement' of £59m.

In summation to his 39 goals successful Portugal's Primeira Liga successful 2024-25, Gyokeres helped himself to different six successful nan Champions League - including a hat-trick against Manchester City.

However, doubts stay complete Gyokeres' expertise to transportation his prolific shape successful Portugal to nan Premier League.

Six-time Premier League victor Ferdinand, speaking connected his ain podcast, Rio Ferdinand Presents, asks: "Is location capable - aft he's physically matched - to get him a goal?"

Gyokeres has gone from leaving Brighton without playing a azygous infinitesimal of Premier League shot to becoming 1 of Europe's astir prolific marksmen - via indebtedness spells successful nan Championship astatine Swansea and Coventry, and successful Germany pinch St Pauli.

Arsenal, who are seeking a objective finisher to extremity a five-year hold for a awesome trophy, person besides been linked on pinch Juventus and Saudi Pro League nine Al-Hilal.

So really has Gyokeres established himself arsenic 1 of this summer's hottest transportation targets aft leaving Brighton, aged 23, without making a Premier League appearance?

Brighton person developed a estimation arsenic masters of nan transportation market, renowned for processing young talent and trading them connected for hefty fees.

In January 2019, they signed Alexis Mac Allister from Argentinos Juniors for an undisclosed, but reportedly mini fee. The midfielder went connected to triumph nan World Cup pinch Argentina successful 2022 earlier joining Liverpool successful a £55m deal successful 2023.

Midfielder Moises Caicedo signed from Ecuadorian broadside Independiente del Valle for £4m successful 2021. Two years later he joined Chelsea successful a woody worthy a British grounds £115m.

Gyokeres, however, is different.

Having grounded to make nan grade, Brighton allowed him to subordinate Coventry for a mini interest successful July 2021 aft an unspectacular return of 3 goals successful 19 Championship appearances during a indebtedness spell pinch nan Sky Blues.

Two years later he went to Sporting for £20.5m aft scoring 38 times successful 91 convention games for Coventry crossed nan 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

While playing successful Lisbon, Gyokeres has scaled caller heights and he is reportedly now weighted by nan Portuguese champions astatine £67m.

He has besides performed connected nan world shape arsenic portion of an breathtaking attacking line-up for Sweden, alongside Newcastle's Alexander Isak and Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski.

Gyokeres scored 9 goals successful six games for his state - including 4 successful 1 lucifer against Azerbaijan - successful nan 2024-25 Nations League.

But it is not conscionable his goals that person earned him attention.

Gyokeres is known for his intelligent activity and aggravated work-rate, while his blend of beingness strength, method accomplishment and tactical consciousness person earned him admiring glances from clubs.

He is simply a creator arsenic good arsenic a goalscorer, pinch a batch of his chance creation coming from his emotion of moving pinch nan ball.

Is Gyokeres nan 1 that sewage distant arsenic acold arsenic Brighton are concerned?

"Players create astatine different rates," Brighton's long-serving main executive Paul Barber told The Athletic, external past November.

"In 2021, erstwhile Viktor was transferred to Coventry, his pathway present wasn't clear and, pinch his statement moving down, he wanted a imperishable home.

"We person to judge nan determination to waste for what it was astatine that clip - correct for nan player, and correct for nan club.

"What Viktor has gone connected to do is fantastic."

Gyokeres' erstwhile team-mates and coaches retrieve a young boy who cried erstwhile he lost. They talk astir a "stubborn kid" who was "wild, really aggressive" and would occasionally travel to blows pinch team-mates.

"I retrieve nan older players were sometimes telling him to calm down a small bit, because he was ever going all-in," Magni Fannberg, who handed Gyokeres his first-team debut for Swedish nine Brommapojkarna successful 2015, told nan Times., external

There are stories astir Gyokeres' single-mindedness, attraction and drive.

Gustav Sandberg Magnusson, who played pinch Gyokeres astatine Brommapojkarna, adds: "There was 1 training convention I was screaming astatine him, 'Viktor, walk nan ball. Pass'. And he didn't [look at] me. I was truthful frustrated."

David Eklund, academy scout astatine nan club, tells BBC Sport: "He was ne'er a superstar for illustration Dejan Kulusevski [another Brommapojkarna younker product]. But he scored goals. That's it.

"He had a beardown mentality but he's a really bully guy. He ever worked difficult and had nan thought of being a apical player, training each day. He wanted to beryllium group wrong."

Dennis Lawrence, who was portion of Mark Robins' backroom unit astatine Coventry erstwhile Gyokeres was there, says: "I had to laughter nan different time erstwhile I saw he scored a free-kick for Sporting. At Coventry, he would effort free-kicks [in training] and I would say, 'No, you're not connected free-kicks, Viktor'.

"But his mentality is, 'no, I cognize I tin do this.'

"And he's scoring these unthinkable free-kicks now. He's sewage that expertise to attraction connected and execute thing he wants."

It each started connected nan gravel pitches of his section grassroots nine successful Stockholm, IFK Aspudden-Tellus. Gyokeres was 5 astatine nan clip and he credits his father, Stefan, successful his development.

"Making that travel together helped maine a lot. We'd stock bully and bad moments," says Gyokeres, who has since gone connected to make a large belief - connected and disconnected nan pitch.

Recently he was nan screen prima for Vogue Scandinavia, who described nan subordinate arsenic Swedish football's "pride and glory".

Take a glimpse astatine nan database of starring goalscorers successful Europe's apical leagues successful 2024-25 and nan accustomed suspects are there.

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe managed 31 successful his debut play successful La Liga, Mohamed Salah contributed 29 goals arsenic Liverpool claimed nan Premier League crown, while Robert Lewandowski vanished connected 27 during Barcelona's title-winning play - 1 much than England skipper Harry Kane's tally for Bayern Munich.

Gyokeres, who is 6ft 2in (1.89m), managed 39, though nan Primeira Liga is not considered 1 of nan apical 5 leagues successful Europe.

The mobility for suitors is whether he could beryllium rather truthful prolific successful a stronger league. He has conscionable turned 27 and is still to play a azygous crippled successful Europe's apical 5 divisions - hence Ferdinand's comments.

It is possibly worthy noting 35% of his goals successful 2024-25 came from penalties, arsenic he successfully converted each 19 of his spot-kicks.

Should he move to Old Trafford he whitethorn person to trust much connected open-play goals arsenic he would beryllium improbable to dislodge Bruno Fernandes arsenic penalty-taker.

United's skipper seldom makes a correction from 12 yards, scoring 38 of 42 spot-kicks since joining, excluding shootouts.

There's small denying that Gyokeres is simply a goalscorer, but will he beryllium specified a occurrence against elite-level defences?