Viktor Gyokeres nearly joined Arsenal's rivals as Premier League boss speaks out

Fulham manager Marco Silva has dismissed suggestions that new Arsenal forward Viktor Gyokeres was previously ignored by Premier League sides.

The Portuguese coach has admitted that his club held discussions with Gyokeres' representative regarding a potential switch to Fulham before the Swedish striker's move to Sporting CP. Arsenal completed a £63.7million move to bring Gyokeres from Sporting following his remarkable two-season spell in the Portuguese capital.

The 27-year-old scored 97 goals in 102 appearances and has been praised by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta as Arsenal look to end their Premier League title drought. Earlier in his career, Gyokeres endured multiple loan spells away from Brighton before finding his feet at Coventry City.

Fulham boss Silva has argued that numerous Premier League clubs recognised Gyokeres' ability in the Championship long before he emerged as one of Europe's most coveted strikers. "That story that nobody had noticed Gyokeres, that's nonsense," Silva told Canal 11, as reported by Portuguese outlet A Bola.

"The top clubs in England hadn't noticed him, that's obvious. It's not easy for a player to go from Coventry to a top club in England, and at that time, he wasn't ready for that move.

"Now, as for mid-table clubs in England, all of them had noticed him. There were some offers to buy Gyokeres, at least during those two years when he stood out a bit more.

"I actually spoke with Gyokeres' agent, or rather the club spoke with his agent, but at the time we also had a world-class striker in [Aleksandar] Mitrovic and he wasn't so easy to replace. But of course we noticed him, not just because of the goals he scored, but it was clear that with space... he was a player with tremendous power, there's no doubt."

Fulham encountered Gyokeres during their promotion-winning 2021/22 campaign. Coventry were the only side to beat Silva's team twice, with the forward netting three goals across both fixtures and leaving a lasting mark on Silva.

"A player who already had good finishing ability, which, in my opinion, he has greatly improved since then," Silva continued. "Now he's a player who – even considering how Coventry played at that time – with space and against teams who pushed higher up and left space behind, between centre-back and full-back, that way he likes to attack space as well – he was naturally a player who made a big difference.

"In that season, when he played against Fulham, we usually had 60 to 70% possession, and it was an ideal game for him to play against us."

However, Silva anticipates his Fulham side will encounter a different Gyokeres in an Arsenal shirt. He outlined how the Sweden international will bolster the Gunners' current tactics and provide the team with a fresh dimension in attack.

"I think he'll fit into a phase of play that Arsenal also have," Silva said. "Regardless of being a big club, but perhaps among all title-chasing teams, they are maybe the team with the most consolidated and solid defensive phase. And they're a team that, when out of possession and sitting deeper, aren't too worried about it.

"They're very strong in their initial pressing phase, but once that doesn't work out, they have no problem dropping back clearly with two lines of four and their attacking midfielder and striker joining up well. And at that moment, there is lots of space to exploit; this will be a moment where Gyokeres will fit very well."

Nevertheless, Silva did highlight some obstacles that Gyokeres might face while leading the Gunners' attack. "When it comes to positional attack, where Arsenal are clearly higher up the pitch, we'll see how well he adapts to that moment of the game, but since Arsenal have that quality and ability that you don't see so much at other clubs, he'll adapt very well in that respect," Silva explained.

"I think it will have an impact. Now, whether it will have the same impact he had in Portugal, we'll have to analyse very carefully and see if it happens."

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