Viktor Gyokeres might have earned himself a lucrative move back to England but he hasn’t attracted many new admirers with the way he’s reportedly conducted his business this summer.
Arsenal look for all the world to have won the race for the Swedish striker’s signature, with Manchester United falling by the wayside and Gyokeres deciding at some point to abandon his Real Madrid pipe dream and cosy up to the Gunners.
With a deal getting close but Sporting CP and Arsenal yet to come to terms on its specific structure, Gyokeres refused to report to training, according to the media in Portugal.
New Arsenal man Viktor Gyokeres ‘could have been a legendary figure’ at Sporting
The burning of bridges doesn’t burden elite footballers with much in the way of tangible consequences but reputations and legacies can be tarnished.
“It’s difficult to place Gyokeres among Sporting’s immortals when his professional and human conduct was reprehensible” Portuguese coach and pundit Laurindo Filho told A Bola.
“Precisely that lack of professionalism, that lack of character in my opinion, on the part of the Swede.
“In the end, that’s what will remain. It’s not just about goals, but about helping the club win titles again.
“As with everything in life, time ends up being a good counsellor. And Gyokeres, who could have been a legendary figure at Sporting, will now be remembered only as a great goalscorer.”
It’s abundantly clear that such an outcome won’t bother Gyokeres much but it’s always a shame when a player achieves something special at a club but leaves under a cloud entirely of their own making.
“Sporting has, for example, Manuel Fernandes as one of its symbols, and Gyokeres will never be beside him in the club’s history. But he could have been, had he known how to act and carry himself throughout this process,” added Filho.
The 27-year-old former Brighton & Hove Albion man produced two astonishing seasons in Lisbon, scoring 68 times in 66 league games and helping Sporting to back-to-back Portuguese titles.
He joined Sporting from Coventry City in 2023 for a reported club record fee in the region of €24 million, having caught the eye with a terrific final season in the Championship.
After 97 goals in 102 games in all competitions for the Lisbon club, it was obvious that Gyokeres would be coveted by a number of clubs capable of paying big money to strip him away from Sporting and a return to England always seemed the likeliest route.
Gyokeres, who is ranked at no.8 in FourFourTwo's list of the best strikers in the world right now, joined Brighton from Brommapojkarna in 2018 but never made a league appearance.
Loan spells at St Pauli, Swansea City and Coventry followed before a permanent move to the Sky Blues in 2021.
