Two years after signing him for around £20m from Coventry, Sporting stand to make a huge profit on Viktor Gyokeres.
The 27-year-old, who hit 40 goals in 97 games after joining Coventry from Brighton in 2021, has scaled new heights in Portugal, scoring 97 times in 102 games for Sporting in all competitions since his arrival in 2023 and becoming one of the most coveted strikers in Europe.
Manchester United have made an initial approach over a potential reunion with his former boss Ruben Amorim. Gyokeres is also of interest to Arsenal as the Gunners aim to strengthen their attack.
His scoring exploits for Sporting, which include six goals in eight Champions League appearances last season, have seen him treble in value to £75m in the space of two years, according to the website Transfermarkt, reflecting the speed of his rise to prominence.
Go back further and the contrast is even more stark. Transfermarkt valued him at only £450,000 when he agreed to join Brighton from Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna in late 2017. He was valued at only £830,000 when he turned his loan to Coventry permanent in 2021.
The explosion in his value began after that, as he followed up an 18-goal first season at Coventry with a 22-goal campaign in his second. In the summer of 2023, his Transfermarkt valuation was roughly in line with the £20m fee paid by Sporting.
Two years and 97 goals later, Gyokeres holds added appeal to suitors such as Manchester United given he is thought to be available for considerably less than his current £75m valuation.
Despite having an £84m release clause in his contract, Gyokeres struck a gentleman’s agreement with Sporting last year that he would be allowed to leave this summer for offers worth £59m.
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Dharmesh Sheth and Kaveh Solhekol explain the latest on Manchester United’s pursuit of Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Sporting’s Gyokeres
A report in Portuguese outlet Record claims Sporting president Federico Varandas has increased the asking price to £68m following enquiries, leaving Gyokeres “furious”, but even at that price he would represent good value, according to Transfermarkt.
Why he is in-demand
Gyokeres’s scoring record speaks for itself and a deeper look at his numbers, compared to those of other strikers across the top seven European leagues, underlines just how good he was last season.
His scoring rate of 1.25 goals per 90 minutes was higher than anyone else’s. He also ranked top for touches in the opposition box. He was in the 97th percentile for shots, at 4.46 per 90 minutes.
He ranked in the 98th and 95th percentiles for fast breaks and successful take-ons, underlining his ball-carrying ability, and he also posted impressive numbers creatively.
His average of 1.99 chances created per 90 minutes put him in the 96th percentile among strikers in Europe’s top-seven leagues. He ranked in the 84th percentile for assists on 0.22 per 90 minutes.
Gyokeres demonstrated impressive intensity out of possession too, ranking in the 97th percentile for possessions won in the final third, reflecting the effectiveness of his pressing.
There is of course a caveat in that Gyokeres has been competing in a comparatively weak league. According to UEFA coefficient rankings, Portugal’s top-flight sits below the Dutch Eredivisie as the seventh strongest in Europe.
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim is a big admirer of Gyokeres
Could he replicate his scoring feats in the league which ranks top?
Gyokeres showed his suitability to English football with his impressive spell at Coventry, but the Premier League is a huge step up from the Championship – and from the Portuguese league.
Manchester United must weigh up that unknown as they ponder the pros and cons of a potential move, but they can offer the familiarity of the head coach, in Amorim, who helped bring the best out of him at Sporting, a club who now stand to profit considerably from his sale.
