Everton ‘kicking themselves’ over Viktor Gyokeres transfer opportunity says shocked pundit
Everton will be “kicking themselves” for not buying Viktor Gyokeres when they had the chance according to Carlton Palmer.
The pundit told Football League World (3 December) that he was surprised nobody in the Premier League had landed the “very consistent” striker before he left Coventry City for Sporting in the summer.
The Swede has continued his fine goalscoring form in Portugal with 13 goals and six assists across all competitions to attract transfer interest again already, and at a potential €24million [£20.5m] asking price Palmer says he’s “worth a punt”.
Palmer said: “Clubs are monitoring the situation with Gyokeres, who has shown fine form since his summer move to Sporting. The Swedish international has netted 13 goals in his last 16 appearances.
“I’m surprised that no Premier League club had a punt on him after back-to-back top seasons in the Championship scoring 17 goals and 21 goals.
“He’s very consistent and at €24 million he was surely worth a punt. However, Coventry are set to be the beneficiaries should he be sold, with up to 15 per cent profit on a future sale.
“Clubs like Everton and West Ham will be kicking themselves for not buying him when they had the chance.”
Went begging
The Toffees were long credited with interest in the 25-year-old international heading into the summer transfer window with a striker widely seen as the top priority for Sean Dyche’s squad.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury woes had made a reliable back-up scorer vital and after 21 league goals and 10 assists in the Championship last season it wasn’t hard to see why Gyokeres was being linked to making the step up to the top flight.
Everton ultimately signed Beto from Udinese and Youssef Chermiti from Gyokeres’ current club Sporting, after missing out on the likes of El Bilal Toure earlier in the window.
Clearly neither of the two Goodison arrivals can match the scoring record of the Sweden international even if neither have had too much opportunity with Calvert-Lewin largely available so far.
The Toffees’ spending constraints were well known during the transfer window but with Sporting claiming they only paid £17.5m guaranteed to land the ex-Coventry man [Coventry Telegraph, 16 November] it is fair to wonder if he could have been brought in since Beto’s deal is set to cost £25.75m [Sky Sports, 29 August] and Chermiti £15m [BBC, 11 August].
However, the fact that Everton weren’t expected to pay anything for either until the next fiscal year [The Athletic, 5 September] perhaps explains it if Coventry wanted cash immediately, with the need for creative financing made all the more obvious by the 10-point deduction for profit and sustainability breaches.
Dyche certainly wouldn’t mind Gyokeres among his options but that ship has surely sailed now.
In other Everton news, Henry Winter has hailed an “absolutely defiant” Toffees star in the crucial win at Nottingham Forest.