Harry Watkinson
In demand: Coventry City’s Viktor Gyokeres
According to reports, Everton and several other Premier League clubs have enquired about signing Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres, but what’s all the fuss about?
The Sky Blues have put a £15 million price tag on the Swede, who was their star player last season.
This article breaks down Gyokeres’ stats from his last three campaigns, to show what he could offer in the topflight.
2019-20: FC St Pauli
Viktor Gyokeres signed for Brighton and Hove Albion in 2018 as a raw, 19-year-old with lots of potential. After that, he was sent on several loan spells which eventually led him to his current club, Coventry City.
Gyokeres’ burst onto the scene after impressing for German second division side FC St Pauli in the 2019-20 season, in his first loan spell away from the South coast. St Pauli finished in 14th place in the 2. Bundesliga, avoiding relegation by just two points. However, their young Swedish striker stood out from the rest of his teammates.
What strikes you instantly when you watch Gyokeres is his confidence: He is quick, has excellent control and the ability to run with the ball; and averaged 1.7 successful dribbles per game in 2019-20. He is also effective at receiving the ball with his back to goal and supplying good passes to his teammates. For St Pauli, he made an average of 1 key pass per game and chalked up 4 assists in total.
It’s difficult to score goals in a struggling team, but Gyokeres managed to net 7 times in 28 appearances in the 2019-20 season. Ultimately, without these goals, St. Pauli would have gone down to the German third tier for the first time since 2007.
Overall, he averaged 0.39 goal contributions per match.
To keep a team up, mainly by yourself, when at that point he was aged just 21 and had very little senior football experience… shows how influential he can be.
Played: 28
Pass success: 70.8%
Key passes per 90: 1
Dribbles per game: 1.7
Shots per game: 1.9
Assists: 4
Goals: 7
2020-21: Brighton, Swansea and Coventry
After making a name for himself in Germany, Brighton offered Gyokeres a few chances in the first team, where in one League Cup game he actually scored a goal against Portsmouth for the Seagulls.
However, it was clear that he was never going to be playing consistently, so Brighton opted to send him out on loan once again. In 2020-21, he was loaned out to Swansea during the first half of the season, and then to Coventry in January.
At Swansea, it’s fair to say Gyokeres struggled to climatize to Championship football. He played 11 matches for the club (although, nine of these were off the bench), scoring one goal and making no assists.
However, when you consider the Swede only played 25 minutes per game on average, it would be harsh to blame him for his low numbers.
When he joined Coventry in January 2021, he played a lot more minutes, although at this stage he was still mainly coming off the bench.
Gyokeres netted three times in 19 appearances for the Sky Blues, averaging a goal every 251 minutes, which isn’t a bad return for a young striker still getting used to the Championship.
Over the full season, he wasn’t as successful as at St. Pauli n terms of his other stats, averaging just 0.5 dribbles, 0.5 key passes and 0.9 shots per game, but again, this was always expected to improve as he got more experience.
Coventry ultimately reaped the benefits of slowly easing him into Championship football, as he would go on to have a great following season.
Played: 34
Pass success: 72%
Key passes per 90: 0.5
Dribbles per game: 0.5
Shots per game: 0.9
Assists: 0
Goals: 5
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2021-22: Coventry City
Coventry signed Gyokeres for £1 million on a permanent deal in July 2021 after being impressed by the striker's potential, and they were rewarded by him having his best season to date.
The striker played 45 matches in all competitions last season, where in the vast majority he played 90 minutes. This was the first campaign he was a consistent starter in England, and Gyokeres didn’t disappoint.
Almost all his stats hit an all-time high. Gyokeres was a more effective creator, with 1.5 key passes per 90, making 5 assists across the campaign. He also looked great on the ball, with 1.8 successful dribbles per game… a 1.3 increase on the previous season.
Most significantly though, where he stood out was his confidence in front of goal. Last season, Gyokeres averaged three shots on target per game for Coventry, a huge increase from his 0.9 per match in 2020-21. And, ultimately if you shoot more… you’re going to score more goals.
Gyokeres netted 18 times across the 2021-22 season. He was Coventry’s top scorer, and also scored the seventh-most goals in the entire division… when you consider he was playing in a midtable side, this is even more impressive.
So, would he be a good signing for a Premiership team?
If he keeps improving at the rate he did last season and can play a decent amount of minutes, his stats suggest he could score plenty.
However, it did take him a season to get used to the Championship, so you could imagine there would be a similar transitional period in the Premier League. Thus, it's unlikely he’d score 18 goals again straight away.
But the Swedish forward is still only 24 and his potential is sky high. If he keeps getting better like he has been doing, he could be a great investment for any topflight side.
Played: 45
Pass success: 70.7%
Key passes per 90: 1.5
Dribbles per game: 1.8
Shots per game: 3
Assists: 5
Goals: 18