## Viktor Gyokeres: From Championship Struggle to Champions League Star – Is He Haaland’s Equal?
The name Erling Haaland is synonymous with goals. He’s the striker everyone wants, the one who seems to score with an almost supernatural ease. But on Tuesday, in the Champions League clash against Sporting CP, Haaland might have to accept a new reality: he’s not the only one who’s been dominating the goalscoring charts.
While Haaland boasts a staggering 17 goals in 18 games for club and country this season, Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres has him beat. With a phenomenal 24 goals in 20 appearances, the 26-year-old Swede is rewriting his narrative – a story that started with struggles and blossomed into a spectacular success.
Four years ago, Gyokeres was on loan at Swansea City in the Championship, a far cry from the European stage he now graces. His 11 appearances yielded no goals, a stark contrast to his current prolific form. A loan spell at Coventry City, where he initially struggled to find his footing, proved to be a turning point.
Former Coventry assistant manager, Adi Viveash, remembers the initial doubts about Gyokeres: “You could have argued on both sides, to be honest. Is it a bit of a gamble?” He wasn’t the dominant force he is today, often being pushed off the ball and lacking the confidence to assert himself as a true central striker.
But then came a change, a shift in mentality that saw Gyokeres transform into the ruthless goal machine he is today. Coventry’s decision to make his loan move permanent in 2021 proved to be a masterstroke. “It was almost as though you’d signed a different player,” says Viveash. “He came in with the confidence of being bought by a team, and suddenly he’d been told that he was going to be the main man. And he looked like the main man.”
Gyokeres’s work ethic, his determination to improve, became evident. He spent countless hours honing his skills, transforming his physicality and mastering the art of finding space and scoring goals. “He started smashing centre-backs around in training!” remembers Viveash, highlighting the newfound confidence and power in Gyokeres’s game.
His goalscoring exploits at Coventry were nothing short of remarkable. He went from scoring just three goals in 30 Championship games to netting 38 goals in 91 matches over the next two seasons. His performances for Coventry were so impressive that they came close to securing promotion to the Premier League, ultimately losing to Luton Town in the Championship play-off final.
The similarities between Gyokeres’s game now and Haaland’s are striking. They both possess the pace, power, and clinical finishing that define top-class strikers. His two goals in the Champions League, solo runs down the left, holding off defenders, and a ruthless finish, are reminiscent of Haaland’s trademark goals.
Gyokeres has developed into a complete centre forward, a testament to his hard work and dedication. He’s not just a goalscorer, he’s a creator, a threat both in the box and outside it. His 11 assists and 74 chances created in 43 league matches for Sporting are a testament to his all-round abilities.
As Gyokeres prepares to face Manchester City in the Champions League, the question that arises is: could he be Haaland’s equal? If he continues on this trajectory, he could certainly become one of the most sought-after strikers in the world. The stage is set for Gyokeres to further cement his place as a truly exceptional talent, and perhaps, a player who rivals even the most prolific goalscorers in the game.
