Everton could repeat David Moyes transfer trick with…

Everton could repeat David Moyes transfer trick with Zlatan Ibrahimovic replacement

Everton once plundered the Championship for its best talent on a regular basis and as the Blues now target a new striker, Coventry City’s Viktor Gyokeres is being linked with a potential move to Goodison Park.

David Moyes, who himself came to the Blues from second-tier Preston North End, returned to the division on several occasions to sign the likes of Tim Cahill, Joleon Lescott and Jermaine Beckford - and Sky Sports’ Alan Myers reports that Frank Lampard and Kevin Thelwell could be going down a similar path with Gyokeres one of a number of names on Everton’s list as they look to strengthen their attacking options, although no bid has been submitted as of yet.

Gyokeres, 24, is a Sweden international – recalled last term as a replacement for the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic to face Kosovo and Greece in 2022 World Cup qualifiers – and has scored twice in seven games for his country to date. But many fans on Merseyside might not have seen too much of him as of yet. After starting out with Brommapojkarna in the lower divisions of his homeland, Gyokeres first came to England in 2017, joining Brighton & Hove Albion. But he only ever made eight appearances for the Sussex outfit – all in cup ties rather than Premier League games – netting once.

The 2019/20 season was spent on loan at German second division side St Pauli, where Gyokeres scored seven times in 28 outings, while he spent the first half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Swansea City, failing to score in 11 Championship matches but netting in a Carabao Cup tie. Another loan spell at Coventry City in the second half of that season brought three goals in 19 games and another promise for the Sky Blues to sign him permanently on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

Mark Robins’ faith in the Swede appeared well-placed, though, as Gyokeres enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2021/22, bagging 18 goals in 45 matches, and he’s followed that up with a bright start to the current campaign, grabbing a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Sunderland on the opening day. Comparisonator’s Similarity Comparison algorithm calculates West Ham United’s Michail Antonio as being the current Premier League striker closest to Gyokeres in style with an 87% match, while after that, Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and Darwin Nunez of Liverpool are rated at 65% with Erling Haaland of Manchester City next at 53%.

When transferring Gyokeres’ statistics from the Championship last season to strikers who were already in the Premier League, he’d lead the way for shot assists with 1.46 per 90 minutes, ahead of Leeds United’s Rodrigo (1.22) and Liverpool’s Sadio Mane – now of Bayern Munich – on 1.1. He also kept himself busy in opposition danger areas with 8.98 attacking actions and 4.25 successful attacking actions per game, numbers that only Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximum (14.32 and 7.97) could better in the top flight. although replicating such figures among the game’s elite obviously represents a far greater challenge.

Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.

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