da premier bet： The Swede looks set to complete a remarkable rise from the Championship to the very highest reaches of the European game

da blaze casino： Coventry City to Sporting CP is not a well-trodden path for footballers, but after the success of Viktor Gyokeres this campaign, a few more of the Sky Blues squad might be pushing their agents for a similar move in the summer.

At the end of last season, the Swede broke with conventional wisdom by foregoing Premier League riches to try his luck in Portugal. However, if reports are to be believed, it won't be long until Gyokeres does return to England.

This time, he won't be in the second tier – he has scored far too many goals at Sporting for that to be the case. Instead, Arsenal or Chelsea beckons, with the London giants both very interested in securing his services this summer.

He won't come cheap, however. Recognising how much a top-quality No.9 is worth these days, his current release clause stands at a whopping €100 million (£86m/$109m), though Sporting are said to be keen to increase this to €120m (£103m/$130m) by offering him a new contract.

No matter how you spin it, these are astronomical sums, so is Gyokeres worth it? GOAL has taken a deep dive into his career so far to find out:

Getty ImagesWhere it all began

Born in the Stockholm on June 4, 1998, Gyokeres began his footballing journey at minnows IFK Aspudden-Tellus. After impressing there, he was spotted by IF Brommapojkarna – who proudly boast of being Europe's largest football club in terms of all-age participants.

He progressed swiftly through the ranks, making his senior debut aged 18 against Ostersunds, who were being managed by Graham Potter at the time. Gyokeres remained in the first team's thinking by scoring bucket loads of goals for the Under-19s and Under-21s, and by the time the 2015-16 season rolled around, he had properly broken into the senior ranks.

The following year was his true breakout campaign, though, with Gyokeres' displays attracting interest from Brighton. After the deal had been announced, he bid farewell to the Swedish side in the perfect way, netting a hat-trick on the final day as they lifted the second-tier title.

After signing for Brighton, Gyokeres admitted that he expected to begin life in the U23s. "The club has said that I'm going to work with the reserve team when I get into it all. They probably look at me as an initial U23 player, but this is most up to me. However, I do not feel stressed. You should focus on where you are and nowhere else," he mused in an interview with .

Gyokeres' prediction was correct too, even if he did star at the 2017 European U19 Championship just before arriving at Brighton. During his four years on the south coast, he mustered just eight appearances, all of which came in cup competitions. His development was instead supplemented by loans to St Pauli, Swansea and Coventry, and during this latter spell, he did enough to convince the Sky Blues to take a chance and sign him permanently.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe big break

It's hard to overstate how important joining Coventry was for Gyokeres. After several years of stagnation in Sussex, he finally had a home where he was considered the main man – and he rose to the challenge.

"Viktor is a talented striker with good power, pace and movement, and great potential. He showed a terrific attitude when he was with us on loan last season and made a real impression," manager Mark Robins said after his arrival was confirmed, and it did not take long for the Swede to start repaying the faith placed in him.

During his first full season at Coventry he registered a goal return of nine in his first 11 Championship games and, after a slight drop off, ended the campaign with 18 strikes in all competitions. He scooped two prizes at the club's end-of-season awards too.

And things got even better the following year. During the 2022-23 campaign, he stepped up his scoring rate and his performances were a huge reason why Coventry secured an unlikely top-six finish. Gyokeres' magic continued in the play-offs too, as in the semi-finals against Middlesbrough, he provided the assist for Gustavo Hamer's goal that booked his side a Wembley date with fellow upstarts Luton Town.

The pair would combine again in the final, with Gyokeres also converting from the penalty spot in the shootout. It was in vain, unfortunately, with Luton earning their place in the Premier League, but by this pointm Coventry's star striker had proved that he was ready to take the next step – even if the rest of his team was not.

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall," he reflected after that Wembley heartbreak.

Getty ImagesHow it's going

Following his exploits for Coventry, there were a host of top clubs after Gyokeres, and it soon became clear that the Sky Blues wouldn't be able to keep hold of their star man. Wolves and Everton were among his Premier League suitors, but Gyokeres would instead opt to return to the continent, joining Sporting for an initial €20m (£17.1m/$21.5m).

His agent, Hasan Cetinkaya, recently told , of that transfer saga: “There were eight Premier League clubs who made concrete proposals to Coventry and me, which guaranteed more money, more commissions and a higher transfer value than Sporting… Ruben Amorim was, and is, the key to Viktor taking this step towards Sporting.”

The fee was a club record and there was pressure on him to perform from the off. Gyokeres has had no issue meeting these lofty expectations, though. At the time of writing, the Sweden international has scored a quite remarkable 36 goals in all competitions, helping put his side in pole position to lift the Liga Portugal title for the first time since 2021.

With his current release clause standing at a whopping €100m (£86.5m/$107.5m), some of the Premier League clubs who were sniffing around in the summer will be tearing their hair out for not pushing harder for his services. But just what it is that makes Gyokeres so special?

Getty ImagesBiggest strengths

Perhaps what stands out most when watching Gyokeres is his unique physical profile. At first glance, the 6'1 striker appears a little gangly. But once the ball comes near him, he proves that looks can be deceiving by showcasing an incredible turn of pace and devilish agility. Saying that, his frame and jumping ability also means he's more than capable of operating as a target man, with Coventry benefitting from this a great deal during his time in the Midlands.

Technically speaking, there's a lot to get enthused about too. As his incredible goal record suggests, he is a truly natural finisher. For Sporting, he has consistently received high-quality crosses from out wide and pinpoint through balls, rewarding his team-mates by maintaining a high conversion rate.

In the league this season, he has, on average, taken less than five shots to score. He's also overperforming his expected goals by nearly seven, further proving how good his finishing has been lately, while his 100 percent success rate from the penalty spot has helped to bolster his tally further.

Gyokeres isn't just an attacking focal point and killer in front of goal, though; he's also proved to be a potent creative force this season. While Sporting's 3-4-2-1 formation necessitates him staying centrally, he likes to pull into the channels and half-spaces whenever possible to show off his excellent passing. His remarkable tally of 15 assists means he's averaging over a goal contribution every game for his side this season.