With reports suggesting that Dan Ashworth could be joined at Manchester United by Sam Jewell – Brighton and Hove Albion’s head of recruitment – it’s tempting to wonder if Old Trafford could soon be home to another man with a past at The Amex Stadium.
Viktor Gyokeres, it’s fair to say, did not make quite the same impact on the pitch at Brighton as Ashworth and Jewell have off it. The striker played only eight times, scoring once, before being sold on to Coventry City in 2021.
But while Gyokeres is hardly the first name that comes to mind when discussing some of Ashworth and Jewell’s most inspired acquisitions – Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister to name but two – a player who arrived on the South Coast as a teenager in a £900,000 deal from IF Brommapojkarna in 2017 is testament, yet again, to Brighton’s enviable recruitment team.
According to The Athletic, Jewell’s detailed knowledge of the European market was key to Brighton bringing in both Gyokeres and fellow Scandinavian Leo Ostigaard. The latter is now at Napoli, the champions of Italy. The former, meanwhile, is blossoming into one of the continent’s most prolific and most complete centre-forwards, Jewell’s belief in Gyokeres more than justified even if it seemingly wasn’t shared by everyone at The Amex.
Why Viktor Gyokeres should be a Manchester United target
Ashworth was still Brighton’s technical director when Gyokeres departed the club permanently, explaining at the time that a change of scenery would be a positive for a player who, at the time, was stuck behind Neal Maupay, Danny Welbeck and Leandro Trossard in the pecking order. The Seagulls also had a young Evan Ferguson making waves behind the scenes too.
Gyokeres was outstanding in two years at Coventry, and has taken his game to another level in Portugal. In just 29 games, he’s scored a staggering 28 goals while providing 11 assists.
Six years after Jewell struck a deal worth just £900,000, Gyokeres could soon be moving on for an eye-watering £85 million. The a release clause in his Sporting contract feels unlikely to go un-triggered for long (Fabrizio Romano). Sporting look destined to make a considerable profit on a player who joined for a club-record £20 million only a few months back. Interestingly, this is perhaps the sort of deal you can expect to see Man United make in the Ineos era, investing mid-range sums in rising stars rather than colossal fees for proven, established top-level talent.
Despite Rasmus Hojlund’s sudden burst of form – he could become the youngest in Premier League history to score in six successive games at Luton Town – Man United remain one centre-forward short, especially with Anthony Martial’s contract expiring.
Links with Ivan Toney persist. But do not be surprised if Gyokeres emerges as a leading target following the likely appointment of Ashworth and the potential arrival of Jewell too, ESPN reporting that the latter could be reunited with the former should Ashworth – as expected – leave his post at Newcastle.
Red Devils still need another striker
With his blonde locks, his Scandinavian roots, his emphatic finishing skills and his buccaneering ball-carrying, the similarities between Gyokeres and Hojlund are obvious. During his time in England’s second-tier, however, the Swede was so devastatingly efficient that comparisons with another free-scoring, Manchester-based centre-forward were forthcoming too.
“He looks a yard more powerful and a yard quicker than everyone else. He’s a really confident boy,” Tony Mowbray said after his Sunderland side found themselves on the wrong end of another Gyokeres masterclass, the striker scoring one and setting up the other in a 2-1 win.
“Who is like him in the Premier League at the moment? Who is too fast, too strong and too big? You would suggest Haaland is like that. And Gyokeres, in this league, looks a yard faster and stronger than the players he plays against in the Championship.”
Averaging nearly a goal-a-game at Sporting, you could replace the word ‘Championship’ with ‘Portugal’ in Mowbray’s final line and it would still ring true. And should Ashworth and Jewell turn to a familiar face at Old Trafford, do not bet against Gyokeres making the step up again.
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