Sean Dyche has revealed that Everton missed out on signing prolific Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres back when the striker was in the Championship.
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Article continues below
Article continues below
- Gyokeres starring at Sporting CP
- Dyche tried to sign him at Everton
- Reviews Man Utd & Arsenal target
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WHAT HAPPENED?
The Sweden international is currently one of the most sought-after strikers in world football due to his goal-scoring exploits at the Portuguese side. Amid links with Arsenal and Manchester United, ex-Everton boss Dyche has revealed how close the Toffees came to signing the 27-year-old when he was at Coventry City in 2023.
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WHAT DYCHE SAID
The former Burnley manager saw Gyokeres first-hand in a pre-season friendly between Everton and Sporting in the summer of 2023 and was left mightily impressed.
He told talkSPORT: "The boy Gyokeres, I've got to be honest, I think he's a real player. I saw him in the Championship. Then we played him in pre-season and I thought, 'Strong, honest'. Not just the fact he was scoring goals by the way, there's more to his game I think."
Dyche added that he wanted to sign Gyokeres prior to his Sporting switch but "the numbers kept growing".
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Gyokeres was at a crossroads in his career after leaving Brighton in 2021. But he found his feet at Coventry and then made an eye-catching move to Sporting for £17 million ($23m). But very few would have expected him to score 97 goals in 102 games and be coveted by top teams across the planet.
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WHAT NEXT?
It remains to be seen which team Gyokeres, who has a £85m ($114m) release clause but could be sold for around £60m ($81m) this summer, will join ahead of next season but it seems his time with Sporting is set to end.