Viktor Gyökeres’ development at Sporting Club de Portugal has certainly been impressive, particularly for those who played alongside him at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Gaëtan Bong is one such player, and has admitted he did not see the striker doing what he is currently doing, based on the evidence he provided in England, in an interview with RMC Sport.
Gyökeres is one of the rising stars of world football after managing 74 goals and 21 assists in 79 games for Sporting Club de Portugal since joining for €24m in July 2023.
He is expected to make a big money move to one of the top sides in Europe before too long, with Manchester United currently put at the top of the list given Ruben Amorim is now in charge at Old Trafford.
It’s been a surprising rise over the last 18 months for the striker, who initially struggled to make an impact in England after joining Brighton in 2018.
He only managed eight appearances in their first team in total over a three-year period, instead spending time on loan at FC St Pauli, Swansea City and then Coventry before joining the latter permanently.
He went on to score 43 goals and register 17 assists in 116 games for the Championship club before joining Sporting, where he has since taken off. Bong didn’t see that happening, having been left than impressed by him at Brighton.
“Everyone who knew him in his early days in England will tell you the same thing. He was a decent and combative striker, but without disrespect, he had quite a few faults. There was nothing to say that he was going to explode one day,” he said.
“I remember seeing this guy come into the locker room who didn’t look like much. It was surprising to see him there because Brighton were used to recruiting people who were fast and not bothered with the ball for their position, already had an imposing physique, but how can I put it.
“Technically and in his finishing, it was… mediocre, for example, he was far from the level of Glenn Murray, who was our starting number 9.”
