Liverpool are looking at bringing in a new striker, with a player who's starred for Coventry City on the radar.
Jurgen Klopp has just a handful of games left as Reds boss, with his employers planning for life after he departs the club. But though new defenders have been touted for a so-called rebuild, there have been fewer rumours of attackers.
Now, however, one superstar bagsman appears to be in the crosshairs.
Former Coventry City forward Viktor Gyokeres has finally, inevitably been linked with a summer transfer move to Liverpool.
The Swedish international was just about the only Sporting player we had not seen seriously linked with the Reds since head coach Ruben Amorim came to be considered the prime contender for Jurgen Klopp’s job this summer.
Gyokeres will already be very familiar to followers of Championship football having previously turned out for Swansea City and Coventry.
The forward joined both clubs on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion – for whom he made eight appearances in cup competition but never played a Premier League game – before making his move to Mark Robins’ side permanent in 2021. That turned out to be an extremely savvy move for Coventry, with Gyokeres hitting excellent in his two seasons as a full-time signing: he registered 40 goals and 17 assists in 97 appearances, playing a key role in their drive to last year’s play-off final.
That earned Gyokeres (pronounced roughly “DYOK-er-ESH” or “YOK-er-ESH”, depending who you listen to) a move to Sporting in a deal reportedly worth up to £21m last summer, with the 6’2” striker taking the step up with aplomb.
Gyokeres has 24 goals and 10 assists in 29 league games for the Primeira Division leaders, who are ten points clear of Benfica with just four games left to play (five, for their cross-city rivals). So it was only a matter of time before he was linked with Liverpool, who are said to be looking for new forward options alongside bolstering their centre-back ranks.
Sure enough, HITC have reported that Liverpool sent scouts to Lisbon to watch Gyokeres, who has also been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea. Centre-back Goncalo Inacio and Morten Hjulman have also been reported as Liverpool targets.
Gyokeres scored twice in a 3-0 win over Vitoria de Guimaraes, extending their winning run to eight league games and their unbeaten league run to 17.
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