Watford sold a £10m striker ‘identical to Viktor Gyokeres’ and he scored 31 goals last season
With only Vakoun Bayo reaching double figures in the Championship last term, how Watford could do with, say, a Vicarage Road equivalent of a Coventry City-era Viktor Gyokeres.
After joining on a permanent basis from Brighton and Hove Albion back in 2021, Gyokeres’ ruthless finishing initially dragged the Sky Blues away from the relegation zone and into the comfort of mid-table.
In his final season in a Coventry shirt, Gyokeres fired Mark Robins’ coupon-busters all the way to the Championship play-off final.
If a Watford side who finished a disappointing 14th last season are to enjoy a similar rise up the division, a striker capable of matching Gyokeres’ tally of 38 goals in two second-tier seasons would come in very handy indeed.
So far, Watford have signed free-agent midfielder Hector Kyprianou, goalkeeper Nathan Baxter, and left-back Marc Bola. The Hornets are making progress in their pursuit of a centre-forward, however.
The Watford Observer claims that Vivaldo Semedo, the 20-year-old Portuguese striker contracted to Udinese, is on his way to Hertfordshire.
Vivaldo scored a respectable nine goals out on loan as Vizela suffered relegation from the Primeira Liga last season. Only time will tell if the Portugal Under-19 international proves to be as inspired a signing for Watford as Gyokeres was for Coventry.
Former Watford striker Luis Suarez could replace Viktor Gyokeres at Sporting CP
Speaking of Gyokeres, one coach feels that Watford might have already sold a centre-forward with many of the same qualities as Sporting Lisbon’s now £60 million-rated striking sensation.
Luis Suarez left Vicarage Road for Granada to the tune of £10 million back in 2020 before he had even made a single competitive appearance in that yellow and black shirt.
Half a decade later, with Luis Suarez producing numbers his ex-Barcelona namesake would be proud of with Almeria, Sebastiao Macias is now confident that a player he knows well from the Colombian national team may be the ideal man to take Gyokeres’ place in Lisbon.
“[Suarez] has the characteristics to fit in well at Sporting” Macias, who previously worked as the assistant to Carlos Quieroz in charge of Colombia, tells Bola Branca. “Aggressive, direct and not afraid of facing [defenders] one-on-one.
“He has great shooting ability, with both his right and left foot. He is a forward who doesn’t ask for permission to shoot. He is also a very aggressive player, very direct, not afraid of taking on one-on-one defenders, versatile, able to connect between the lines and works deep.
“Therefore, I think he has all the characteristics to fit well into Sporting’s system and Portuguese football.”
Suarez left Watford because he didn’t want to play Championship football
Suarez scored 31 goals last season in Spain’s second tier for UD Almeria.
The Watford Observer explain that his departure came about largely because the former Marseille man had little interest in representing the Hornets in the second-tier of English football. It is ironic, then, that his best performances in senior football have come not in La Liga but the Spanish Segunda with Almeria.
“In terms of style, he seems to be a player who is identical to Gyokeres,” adds Macias, who is now in charge of the Estoril Praia B-team. “His aerial game is not comparable but, in terms of style, looking for the goal, aggressiveness, always trying to shoot with his right or left foot, finishing moves, he is similar.
“I think Luis Suarez is a bit more [of a link man], works more between the lines and can build more than Gyokeres.”
Coventry will make a cool £6 million if Sporting sell Gyokeres this summer, meanwhile, thanks to a sell-on clause in the Swede’s contract.
