In the category “Scandinavian striker with blond hair, a destructive physique and a keen eye for goal”, we expected Erling Haaland in Sporting – Manchester City on Tuesday, in the Champions League. In the end, we only saw Viktor Gyökeres, author of a hat-trick while his opposite number sent a penalty over the bar.
If the Portuguese team achieved the feat of winning 4-1 in this historic match for the Lisbon club, they owe it a lot to their Swedish nugget. She knows that she has one of the most sought-after players in European Football.
It was at Sporting that Viktor Gyökeres really panicked the scorers. This is not totally surprising: the Portuguese championship highlights scorers, especially when they play for one of the three big teams. But in his current club the Swede has found a suitable context: the offensive but vertical football developed by Ruben Amorim (who will be the coach of Manchester United from next week) suits him perfectly. All power and speed.
In today’s football, there are few players who go under the radar. They are generally detected in late adolescence. Gyökeres is already 26 years old. But it only came to light recently. At the age of 20, he had certainly been detected by Brighton, who never made a place for him and loaned him out several times. In Coventry in particular, who bought him in 2021. In two seasons of English D2, he scored 38 goals. This pleased Sporting Portugal which, in the summer of 2023, spent 20 million euros on the man who was still an unknown. Well seen.
This season, Viktor Gyökeres has played 21 matches in all competitions, whether with Sporting or Sweden. There were only three matches where he neither scored nor gave an assist. In total, the count is incredible: 27 goals and 7 assists! The hat-trick he scored against City is not surprising: in the last five matches he has played, he has scored eleven goals. In short, a stratospheric form, but not new: last season, he scored 43 times with his club.
In the stands of the Estadio José Alvalade, the gesture has become trendy: Sporting supporters have gotten into the habit of joining their two hands, crossing their ten fingers and bringing them in front of their noses, as if to mime a mask. It’s the goal celebration that Gyökeres repeats every time he finds the fault. Quite often, in other words. Its meaning? This would be a reference to Bane, a Batman villain.
How much longer will Viktor Gyökeres shake the nets with the Sporting jersey? His imminent departure seems inevitable. On the Portuguese side, we hope that it will not be this winter, but at best in the summer of 2025. Because his performances inevitably destin him for a big club. PSG, Arsenal and other famous teams are already interested. Others should definitely enter the race. But you will have to pay the price. Amount of the release clause: 100 million euros.
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