Troy Deeney has warned Arsenal that striker target Viktor Gyokeres is not a “natural finisher” and he will not help them to win the Premier League or “they’d have already bought him”.
Gyokeres already has 42 goals in all competitions this season. That includes six Champions League goals in eight games – a better tally than he scored in last season’s Europa League.
That suggests he’s moving on with each level, and he’s only one goal off his entire tally for last season already, supporting that.
New Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is said to be a long-term admirer of the Sporting CP striker, with the Gunners developing a strong interest.
But former Premier League forward Deeney feels that interest is misplaced, with Gyokeres not up to standard.
“You know when you say something the clip is going to come back in six months,” Deeney said on talkSPORT.
“I genuinely think he’s a good footballer, he works really hard, all of that. But I don’t think he’s a natural finisher.
“And again, everyone is going to pull up his goal record, I get that. But I don’t think he takes either of those two [Arsenal or Manchester United] to winning the Premier League.
“That’s just my opinion, and if he did, they’d have already bought him.”
Gyokeres has 85 goals in the last two seasons, with the second of those obviously not complete yet. He has also scored 15 goals in 26 international appearances, and in his last season in England with Coventry, he bagged 22 goals, suggesting he is indeed a natural finisher.
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One of the reasons he has not already been bought is surely that his price tag has changed of late. Gyokeres’ release clause is at €100million (£83.6m approx) but insider Fabrizio Romano has suggested he’ll more likely be sold at €65m-€70m (£54.4m-£58.5m).
While he’s one of the most in-form strikers in the world, clubs would not have wanted to overpay for no reason, knowing that a side like Sporting would probably drop the price to ensure they receive a decent fee.
In any case, Deeney reiterates we’ll “find out” that the Premier League is not the same as Liga Portugal when Gyokeres arrives.
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