Brighton flop to Europe’s hot property – is Gyokeres ready for next step?

“I don’t think he’s the guy,” Rio Ferdinand says of Viktor Gyokeres.

“I’ve watched him probably three times really, really closely. And three times I’ve gone: ‘He ain’t getting that opportunity in the Prem’.”

Gyokeres has scored a phenomenal 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting, also contributing 26 assists for the Lisbon outfit.

The Sweden forward averaged more than a goal per game in the season just gone, with 54 in 52 appearances.

Yet former Manchester United captain Ferdinand is not convinced Gyokeres, who has been strongly linked with the Red Devils, is a good fit for his old club.

Top clubs, however, are circling for the former Brighton player after an outstanding couple of seasons with Sporting, where he played under United boss Ruben Amorim.

Sporting club president Frederico Varandas says they have not received an offer for the striker and they are also not prepared to let him leave for a rumoured ‘gentleman’s agreement’ of £59m.

In addition to his 39 goals in Portugal’s Primeira Liga in 2024-25, Gyokeres helped himself to another six in the Champions League – including a hat-trick against Manchester City.

However, doubts remain over Gyokeres’ ability to transfer his prolific form in Portugal to the Premier League.

Six-time Premier League winner Ferdinand, speaking on his own podcast, Rio Ferdinand Presents, asks: “Is there enough – after he’s physically matched – to get him a goal?”

Gyokeres has gone from leaving Brighton without playing a single minute of Premier League football to becoming one of Europe’s most prolific marksmen – via loan spells in the Championship at Swansea and Coventry, and in Germany with St Pauli.

Arsenal, who are seeking a clinical finisher to end a five-year wait for a major trophy, have also been linked along with Juventus and Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal.

Brighton have developed a reputation as masters of the transfer market, renowned for developing young talent and selling them on for hefty fees.

In January 2019, they signed Alexis Mac Allister from Argentinos Juniors for an undisclosed, but reportedly small fee. The midfielder went on to win the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 before joining Liverpool in a £55m deal in 2023.

Midfielder Moises Caicedo signed from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle for £4m in 2021. Two years later he joined Chelsea in a deal worth a British record £115m.

Gyokeres, however, is different.

Having failed to make the grade, Brighton allowed him to join Coventry for a small fee in July 2021 after an unspectacular return of three goals in 19 Championship appearances during a loan spell with the Sky Blues.

Two years later he went to Sporting for £20.5m after scoring 38 times in 91 league games across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

While playing in Lisbon, Gyokeres has scaled new heights and he is reportedly now valued by the Portuguese champions at £67m.

He has also performed on the international stage as part of an exciting attacking line-up for Sweden, alongside Newcastle’s Alexander Isak and Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski.

Gyokeres scored nine goals in six games for his country – including four in one match against Azerbaijan – in the 2024-25 Nations League.

But it is not just his goals that have earned him attention.

Gyokeres is known for his intelligent movement and intense work-rate, while his blend of physical strength, technical skill and tactical awareness have earned him admiring glances from clubs.

He is a creator as well as a goalscorer, with a lot of his chance creation coming from his love of running with the ball.

Is Gyokeres the one that got away as far as Brighton are concerned?

“Players develop at different rates,” Brighton’s long-serving chief executive Paul Barber told The Athletic last November.

“In 2021, when Viktor was transferred to Coventry, his pathway here wasn’t clear and, with his contract running down, he wanted a permanent home.

“We have to accept the decision to sell for what it was at that time – right for the player, and right for the club.

Gyokeres’ former team-mates and coaches remember a young boy who cried when he lost. They talk about a “stubborn kid” who was “wild, really aggressive” and would occasionally come to blows with team-mates.

“I remember the older players were sometimes telling him to calm down a little bit, because he was always going all-in,” Magni Fannberg, who handed Gyokeres his first-team debut for Swedish club Brommapojkarna in 2015, told the Times.

There are stories about Gyokeres’ single-mindedness, focus and drive.

Gustav Sandberg Magnusson, who played with Gyokeres at Brommapojkarna, adds: “There was one training session I was screaming at him, ‘Viktor, pass the ball. Pass’. And he didn’t [look at] me. I was so frustrated.”

David Eklund, academy scout at the club, tells BBC Sport: “He was never a superstar like Dejan Kulusevski [another Brommapojkarna youth product]. But he scored goals. That’s it.

“He had a strong mentality but he’s a really nice guy. He always worked hard and had the idea of being a top player, training every day. He wanted to prove people wrong.”

Dennis Lawrence, who was part of Mark Robins’ backroom staff at Coventry when Gyokeres was there, says: “I had to laugh the other day when I saw he scored a free-kick for Sporting. At Coventry, he would try free-kicks [in training] and I would say, ‘No, you’re not on free-kicks, Viktor’.

“But his mentality is, ‘no, I know I can do this.’

“And he’s scoring these incredible free-kicks now. He’s got that ability to focus on and achieve anything he wants.”

It all started on the gravel pitches of his local grassroots club in Stockholm, IFK Aspudden-Tellus. Gyokeres was five at the time and he credits his father, Stefan, in his development.

“Making that journey together helped me a lot. We’d share good and bad moments,” says Gyokeres, who has since gone on to make a big impression – on and off the pitch.

Take a glance at the list of leading goalscorers in Europe’s top leagues in 2024-25 and the usual suspects are there.

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe managed 31 in his debut season in La Liga, Mohamed Salah contributed 29 goals as Liverpool claimed the Premier League crown, while Robert Lewandowski finished on 27 during Barcelona’s title-winning season – one more than England captain Harry Kane’s tally for Bayern Munich.

Gyokeres, who is 6ft 2in (1.89m), managed 39, though the Primeira Liga is not considered one of the top five leagues in Europe.

The question for suitors is whether he could be quite so prolific in a stronger league. He has just turned 27 and is still to play a single game in Europe’s top five divisions – hence Ferdinand’s comments.

It is perhaps worth noting 35% of his goals in 2024-25 came from penalties, as he successfully converted all 19 of his spot-kicks.

Should he move to Old Trafford he may have to rely more on open-play goals as he would be unlikely to dislodge Bruno Fernandes as penalty-taker.

United’s captain rarely makes a mistake from 12 yards, scoring 38 of 42 spot-kicks since joining, excluding shootouts.