Transfers in Focus: Victor Gyokeres to Sporting CP
The Swedish striker is trading Coventry for Lisbon.
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Alright now that’s all out of the way, let’s get into it….
It’s the summer of strikers in the 2023 window as several top teams are looking to either upgrade or bring in a new number nine.
Names like Victor Osimhen, Randall Kolo Muani, Harry Kane and Rasmus Holjund have dominated the transfer news cycle and seeing this interest, their clubs have responded in kind by inflating the market with high price tags.
It doesn’t seem like there are any bargains on the market, especially after Inter Milan snapped up Marcus Thuram on a free transfer and this has left many clubs scratching their heads about who they should commit their budget to1.
However, while Europe’s top clubs are attracted to these headline names like moths to a flame, Sporting CP are quietly in the process of completing a deal for a fraction of the price quoted for other number nines.
Victor Gyokeres has agreed a move to the Portuguese club for around €24m and I believe this is a major coup for the Lisbon-based club.
Not only have they got themselves an excellent player, but they have also exploited a systemic problem in how bigger clubs conduct their transfer business.
So let’s talk about it…
For many of you, your first rebuke will be ‘Well Gyokeres was playing in the Championship, so it’s understandable why clubs didn’t move for him.’
We’ll get back to the semantics of that statement later, but let’s start by addressing what sort of play Gyokeres is, his quality and why Sporting have achieved a coup by signing him.
Coventry shocked everyone last season by reaching the play-off final during the 2022/23 season. They had finished in 12th the campaign prior and did not have the financial backing that some of their rivals enjoyed.
Gustavo Hamer was incredibly impressive in the midfield and Ben Wilson had a great campaign between the sticks keeping 20 clean sheets in 43 games. But Gyokeres was undoubtedly the star man.
The 25-year-old striker scored 21 goals (only beaten by Chuba Akpom’s 28) and registered 10 assists in 46 games in the Championship.
This was his best season so far in senior football; improving on his 17 for Coventry last season and his 13 for IF Brommapojkarna when he was still playing in Sweden.
The question many would ask is whether he could replicate this at a higher level.
Looking at his xG, Gyokeres underperformed last season scoring 17 from an xG of 19.2, but this season he overperformed scoring 21 goals from a similar xG of 19.5.
This shows that when he is presented with chances, he can reliably finish them. There is the worry that he will get fewer chances at a higher level, but then you can also say that a team like Sporting, who have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to creative talent, would be able to get the ball to him in good goalscoring areas.
Last season the Portuguese outfit scored a respectable 71 goals in the league, but that was less than their rivals Braga (75), Porto (73) and Benfica (82). They will be hoping that Gyokeres can help them overtake their rivals.
Goals are the bare minimum expectation of a new striker and at one point in time, the striker who scored the most goals would be the best signing. However, in the modern day, profiles and how they fit the team tactically is also important
As well as being dangerous in the box, Gyokeres provides his team with a great option upfront to link up with the rest of the team’s attackers in an around the box.
He is also an astute carrier of the ball, picking it up from deep and consistently progressing it up the field. This gives whoever has Gyokeres in their team a lot of versatility in their attack.
With all this in mind, why were Sporting able to complete a deal for Gyokeres unopposed?
While many Premier League teams could have benefitted from the Swedish striker’s services this summer (Everton and an Ivan Toney-less Brentford come to mind) the fact that Sporting have Europa League football next season puts them ahead of those teams.
But I believe that Gyokeres could have made an impact at the highest level for a team playing in the Champions League. However, the major issue is that teams at the highest level are too risk-averse.
Now this is not in the way you’d expect; Hojlund scored nine league goals last season but Manchester United are willing to pay around £50m for him. No, what dictates too much decision-making at the top level is their existing reputation.
This either manifests quite overtly as teams signing players ‘who sell shirts’ (not literally but you know what I mean) or by clubs not signing players until they’ve proved themselves at a higher level. However in this day and age that can double or triple the price tag associated with them.
Sporting have signed Gyokeres for €25m, but if he impresses at the José Alvalade Stadium and a team wants to sign him they will likely have to agree to part with €60m just to start a conversation.
Many clubs are starting to take a data-driven approach to recruitment. Brighton are the best example of this and their scouting is what brought Gyokeres to England in the first place, but there is still room for improvement.
Bigger teams must be willing to take risks and sign players earlier to avoid paying premiums in the pursuit of solving their problems.
Gyokeres would have been a shrewd purchase this summer for several teams, but as it stands Sporting have got themselves a great player at a bargain price and Ruben Amorim will finally have a focal point for his project in the capital.
FFP is also a factor for some of these teams