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

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

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

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

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

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

Top clubs, however, are circling for the erstwhile Brighton subordinate aft an outstanding mates of seasons with Sporting, wherever helium played under United brag Ruben Amorim.

Sporting nine president Frederico Varandas says they person not received an connection for the striker and they are besides not prepared to fto him permission 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 the Champions League - including a hat-trick against Manchester City.

However, doubts stay implicit Gyokeres' quality to transportation his prolific signifier successful Portugal to the Premier League.

Six-time Premier League victor Ferdinand, speaking connected his ain podcast, Rio Ferdinand Presents, asks: "Is determination 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 the Championship astatine Swansea and Coventry, and successful Germany with St Pauli.

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

So however 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 the transportation market, renowned for processing young endowment and selling them connected for hefty fees.

In January 2019, they signed Alexis Mac Allister from Argentinos Juniors for an undisclosed, but reportedly tiny fee. The midfielder went connected to triumph the World Cup with 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 aboriginal helium joined Chelsea successful a woody worthy a British grounds £115m.

Gyokeres, however, is different.

Having failed to marque the grade, Brighton allowed him to articulation Coventry for a tiny interest successful July 2021 aft an unspectacular instrumentality of 3 goals successful 19 Championship appearances during a indebtedness spell with the Sky Blues.

Two years aboriginal helium went to Sporting for £20.5m aft scoring 38 times successful 91 league games crossed the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

While playing successful Lisbon, Gyokeres has scaled caller heights and helium is reportedly present valued by the Portuguese champions astatine £67m.

He has besides performed connected the planetary signifier 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 the 2024-25 Nations League.

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

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

He is simply a creator arsenic good arsenic a goalscorer, with a batch of his accidental instauration coming from his emotion of moving with the ball.

Is Gyokeres the 1 that got distant arsenic acold arsenic Brighton are concerned?

"Players make astatine antithetic rates," Brighton's long-serving main enforcement Paul Barber told The Athletic, external past November.

"In 2021, erstwhile Viktor was transferred to Coventry, his pathway present wasn't wide and, with his declaration moving down, helium wanted a imperishable home.

"We person to judge the determination to merchantability for what it was astatine that clip - close for the player, and close for the club.

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

Gyokeres' erstwhile team-mates and coaches retrieve a young lad who cried erstwhile helium lost. They speech astir a "stubborn kid" who was "wild, truly aggressive" and would occasionally travel to blows with team-mates.

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

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

Gustav Sandberg Magnusson, who played with Gyokeres astatine Brommapojkarna, adds: "There was 1 grooming league I was screaming astatine him, 'Viktor, walk the ball. Pass'. And helium didn't [look at] me. I was truthful frustrated."

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

"He had a beardown mentality but he's a truly bully guy. He ever worked hard and had the thought of being a apical player, grooming each day. He wanted to beryllium radical wrong."

Dennis Lawrence, who was portion of Mark Robins' backroom unit astatine Coventry erstwhile Gyokeres was there, says: "I had to laughter the different time erstwhile I saw helium scored a free-kick for Sporting. At Coventry, helium 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 bash this.'

"And he's scoring these unthinkable free-kicks now. He's got that quality to absorption connected and execute thing helium wants."

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

"Making that travel unneurotic helped maine a lot. We'd stock bully and atrocious moments," says Gyokeres, who has since gone connected to marque a large content - connected and disconnected the pitch.

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

Take a glimpse astatine the database of starring goalscorers successful Europe's apical leagues successful 2024-25 and the 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 the Premier League crown, portion Robert Lewandowski finished 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 the Primeira Liga is not considered 1 of the apical 5 leagues successful Europe.

The question for suitors is whether helium could beryllium rather truthful prolific successful a stronger league. He has conscionable turned 27 and is inactive 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 helium successfully converted each 19 of his spot-kicks.

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

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

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