Former Premier League defender Rio Ferdinand has shared doubts that Viktor Gyokeres would deal with the quality of defenders in the Premier League, amid transfer links to Arsenal.
The Sporting striker has caught the eye with his performances and goalscoring record for the Portuguese club since joining from Coventry City in the summer of 2023.
Arsenal are one of the teams to be linked with an interest, but the appointment of former Sporting boss Ruben Amorim at Manchester United has also led to talk of a possible summer move to Old Trafford.
Arsenal fans got to see the striker up close on Tuesday night when the Gunners took on Sporting in the Champions League group stage. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard saw Arsenal come out as 5-1 winners on a memorable night.
In a rarity this season, Gyokeres was not on the scoresheet for Sporting. Ferdinand has said that might be a sign of how he would cope with a move to the Premier League.
“His strengths played into the strengths of the two central defenders he was up against and that’s what he’d find in the Premier League week in week out,” he said on TNT Sport. “Two big strong centre halves the majority of the time. Can he deal with them?
“It wasn’t until Gabriel went off that he actually got a bit of joy against Kiwior, a player who’s not as big and not as strong. These two centre halves are the best as a partnership and they didn’t give him an ounce the whole game. He’s been crucifying teams in those areas running the channels, these guys look supremely comfortable in doing that.
“Have I seen enough to say he can come to the Premier League and be a success? I’m not saying he wouldn’t, but I’m saying you’d need to see more than what we saw today.”
Despite his struggles against Arsenal, Gyokeres has proven that he can cope with Premier League defenders earlier in the season. The striker scored a hat trick in Sporting’s shock 4-1 Champions League win over Manchester City earlier this month.
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