European Hot Shots: Sporting frontman Viktor Gyokeres
European Hot Shots: Sporting frontman Viktor Gyokeres
FotMob - March 29, 2024, 9:00 AM
It sounds strange to say now given he’s recognised as a goal machine but there was a time when Viktor Gyökeres was not known for his goalscoring ability.
By Sam McGuire
Gyökeres had caught the eye as a teenager turning out for the Brommapojkarna in the Swedish second tier prior to his move to Brighton but that was about it. While playing in his homeland, Gyökeres scored 13 goals in 29 appearances and it was this form that put him on the radar of the Seagulls.
They swooped in, bringing the 6ft2 striker to England in January 2018. He eventually went on to make eight appearances across all competitions during the three-and-a-half seasons he was with the club. While at the Amex, he was loaned out to St. Pauli in the German second tier before back-to-back loan spells in the Championship with Swansea City and Coventry City.
Gyökeres scored a combined 11 goals across these three loans but he did enough while with Coventry to convince them to sign him on a permanent basis. At the time, few people acknowledged the move. After all, Brighton, famed for their nous in the transfer window, rarely make mistakes.
Yet this is one of them.
In his first full season, the 2021/22 campaign, with the Sky Blues, he found the back of the net 17 times in the Championship. He followed that up with 21 goals last term to earn himself a €20million move to Sporting CP.
After his exploits in the Championship, a number of Premier League clubs were reportedly interested in the Sweden international but none of them were confident enough to pull the trigger. It allowed Sporting to swoop in and make him their new No. 9.
You wouldn’t think there was pressure on the shoulders of Gyökeres heading into this season. A big price tag, a new league to adapt to, and the expectation of spearheading Sporting to a title challenge.
He’s thrived since the move to the Portuguese capital.
The 25-year-old has an astonishing 22 goals and 10 assists in just 25 appearances in Liga Portugal. He’s helped fire Rúben Amorim’s men to the top of the league, currently holding a one-point lead over neighbours Benfica with a game in hand.
His value has almost trebled, with a current market valuation of €57million, while reports suggest Sporting will only listen to offers in excess of €70million for the 20-cap international. The former-Brighton striker is reportedly being courted by both Arsenal and Chelsea with the two Premier League clubs looking to bolster their attacking options.
You can’t blame the Portuguese club for wanting big money for their main man.
Gyökeres has proven himself to be an elite finisher and these are hard to come by. A lot of strikers are chance magnets but few have the calmness or the composure in the penalty area to convert at the ridiculous rate he is.
The ex-Coventry man is averaging a decent number of shots per 90 in the Portuguese top flight (3.4) but by no means is his output unsustainable. So, that is the first box ticked. But when you delve a little deeper and look at his underlying numbers, the picture becomes a little clearer.
His 22 goals from an Expected Goals total of 15.45 is a little misleading. At a glance, that sort of overperformance is a red flag. At some point, the bubble will burst. Players rarely run that hot for sustained periods. Generally speaking, if you buy now, you are paying for the overperformance and it makes it impossible for the player to live up to the price tag.
However, this might not be the case with Gyökeres. You see, while his Expected Goals haul is 6.5 shy of his actual return this season, his Expected Goals on Target total is just 1.11 down on his 22 goals. This particular metric assigns a value to where the shots land on target. If a player takes a low-value effort but manages to hit the corner, the value of the shot increases. The Sporting No. 9 is improving the chances of him scoring with his shot placement and this is what makes his return sustainable.
You can see with his shot map (above), he’s hitting the corners a lot of the time. He also has a knack for hitting shots early, which catches goalkeepers off guard and this, again, increases the likelihood of a goal being scored.
Yes, he’s running hot, but he’s running hot in a way that appears to be sustainable. He isn’t going to drastically lose his finishing ability. He may go through a barren spell now and then, like all top attackers do, but looking at his data this season he’ll be a permanent goal threat. He’s going to be one of the most sought-after strikers across Europe this summer.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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Jurgen Klopp invites former Liverpool star to training to 'learn his methods' - report
Jurgen Klopp will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season
Xabi Alonso no longer seen as potential replacement
Fernando Torres expected to get the chance to learn from Klopp this weekend
By Tom Gott
10:00 AM GMT
Klopp will leave Liverpool
Klopp will leave Liverpool / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
Jurgen Klopp has invited former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres to observe training this weekend to learn more about life behind the scenes at Anfield.
Klopp will step down at the end of the season and Liverpool are already on the hunt for a replacement. Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso had been the top target but he is no longer expected to leave his current side.
Amid the search for a new boss, Klopp is reportedly set to hand Torres a crash course over the weekend to give the 40-year-old a deeper insight into life as a top-flight manager.
Marca state that Torres, who currently works with Atletico Madrid's Under-19 side, will spend Friday and Saturday at Liverpool's AXA Training Centre, before being invited to Anfield on Sunday to watch the Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The point of Torres' visit is to help the former striker, who scored 81 goals in 142 games for Liverpool between 2007 and 2011, learn from Klopp and figure out how things work from a management perspective at Anfield.
Fernando Torres, Nabil El Zhar, Steven Gerrard
Torres scored in a recent charity match / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
Torres' visit to training comes just a week after the 40-year-old scored at Anfield in a charity friendly for a team of Liverpool legends, lining up alongside the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jerzy Dudek and Martin Skrtel.
Importantly, there are no suggestions that Torres' return to the club has anything to do with the search for a new manager.
Liverpool continue to hunt for replacements for Klopp and, with Alonso now expected to be out of the running, club officials are drawing up a list of possible alternatives.
Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim is a popular choice, while Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi is also seen as a potential target.
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Transfers
Jurgen Klopp reveals Alisson return timeline
Alisson has been sidelined with a hamstring injury
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Klopp expects Alisson back in action this season
Tom Gott
By Tom Gott
28 Mar 2024
Alisson is out with a hamstring injury
Alisson is out with a hamstring injury / Marc Atkins/GettyImages
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed he expects goalkeeper Alisson to be back from his hamstring injury before the end of April.
Alisson has been sidelined since February after picking up the muscular issue which also forced him to miss the latest international break with Brazil.
During a meeting with fans at the club's AXA Training Centre, Klopp was asked for an update on Alisson's return to the team and the boss freely revealed that the 31-year-old is nearing a comeback.
"About two and a half, three weeks," Klopp said. "It's not that long anymore, like Diogo [Jota] as well."
It's not clear whether Klopp was referring to Alisson's return to training or to matchday action, but the Liverpool stopper can be expected back in the starting lineup by the end of April.
Alisson Becker, Jurgen Klopp
Alisson is nearing his return / Visionhaus/GettyImages
Liverpool will face Brighton & Hove Albion on their return to Premier League action on March 31 before meetings with Sheffield United and Manchester United in the first week of April. Crystal Palace, Fulham, Everton and West Ham United are all on the schedule before May, with Alisson likely back to face the Toffees in the Merseyside derby on April 24.
In the UEFA Europa League, the first leg of Liverpool's quarter-final with Atalanta will take place on April 11, with Alisson certain to miss out, but a speedy recovery process may see him in contention for the return leg on April 18 if everything goes perfectly.
Midfielder Curtis Jones is expected back from injury for the Brighton game this weekend, but Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota also face a few more weeks on the sidelines before getting back in action.
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Emotional Virgil van Dijk dreading final farewell to Jurgen Klopp
Klopp will step down from his position as Liverpool manager this summer
Boss oversaw Van Dijk's move to Anfield in 2018
Dutch defender determined to send Klopp off with more trophies
Tom Gott
By Tom Gott
25 Mar 2024
Van Dijk does not want to say goodbye
Van Dijk does not want to say goodbye / Visionhaus/GettyImages
Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk has admitted he is dreading saying goodbye to manager Jurgen Klopp once and for all at the end of the season.
Klopp, who brought Van Dijk to Anfield in January 2018, will step down from his position at the end of the season, bringing an end to an illustrious period in which Liverpool have re-established themselves as heavyweights of the European game.
The announcement of his departure left fans incredibly emotional and that sentiment will only grow when the moment eventually arrives, and Van Dijk confessed to Voetbal International that he is not looking forward to bidding farewell to Klopp.
"I am quite an emotional person and I always find it very difficult to say goodbye to someone," he explained. "That will certainly be the case now.
"It's not just the manager who goes, it's more people. Pepijn [Lijnders], an important person in the staff...and I could go on and on. Saying goodbye is not something I am looking forward to, but we can make it very nice by winning prizes together.
"That's the way life is. You see each other at the club almost daily and even more often than your own wife and children. You experience highlights together, but also difficult moments. That creates a bond that is very close, especially at a club like Liverpool, one big family.
"And then after a few years it's suddenly over. I hope, but am actually quite sure, that the club manages to preserve that unique atmosphere of mutual connection for the future."
Jurgen Klopp, Virgil van Dijk
Van Dijk believes Liverpool will stay on top after Klopp's exit / Richard Sellers/Allstar/GettyImages
Klopp's farewell tour coincides with Van Dijk's determination to prove himself as one of Europe's best defenders after a 2022/23 campaign which ended in disappointment for both Liverpool and the Netherlands.
"Last year didn't go well and I'm one of the contributing players at Liverpool and the Netherlands," he said. "I realise that, I'm proud of that.
"I played very good games last year, but also duels in which I was much less, which were not up to the standard I set myself.
"Then you have to deal with the criticism and I admit that, like every human being, I am not always immune to that. I understand very well that criticism is part of the job and that's fine. But sometimes you can handle it better than other times.
"One thing I really do have as a goal is to get everything out of it that's in me. We'll see what the next few years bring.
"Physically and mentally, I feel strong and good. I just want to win everything. We're looking good with Liverpool at the moment and we can still take nice prizes like the championship and the Europa League.
"I want to receive those as captain of this wonderful club and if everything goes along and falls right, I may also hold up a trophy once as captain of the Dutch national team."
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