Gyokeres angry again after saving Sporting

Viktor Gyokeres was once again Sporting CP’s hero as he scored the winning goal in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Santa Clara, which required extra-time to see the Lisbon side into the final four.

It was another moment that saw the striker’s stock in the transfer market rise, with Gyokeres himself having fuelled talk of a January transfer after he reacted angrily following last week’s Champions League loss against Club Brugge.

The Sweden international hit out at Sporting’s fans on that occasion as they launched projectiles at their team as they saw a 1-0 lead crumble to become a 2-1 defeat, with the club’s poor form following the departure of Ruben Amorim to Manchester United apparently getting to everyone.

Sporting have recovered a little since, beating Boavista at the weekend before overcoming Santa Clara in midweek, and while Gyokeres were angry following the Wednesday clash, it was for a very different reason.

“There’s a break every 20 seconds in the game,” he grumbled, with O Jogo describing the forward as ‘angry’ following the Wednesday clash. “It’s not possible for the game to flow.”

He continued: “It’s a good challenge for us when the game is like that. We want to win every game 5-0, but that’s not always possible.”

Premier League dream

Gyokeres has been linked with a January move to PSG, who are said to be preparing a €100 million bid that would trigger his release clause.

In a positive twist for the clubs who are tracking him with a view to signing him in the summer – Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United among them – the striker does appear to be looking forward to the second half of the season in Lisbon.

“We have to get back to a phase where everything clicks and works, not conceding goals and creating more chances. We have to improve,” he said.

This came just hours after he admitted his desire to one day play in the Premier League, having previously turned out for Coventry in the Championship.

“Of course it moving to Sporting was different, because I had the goal of playing in the Premier League,” he told Aftonbladet.

“That was my focus and the adjustment was difficult… but I thought about it, I talked to those around me who helped me a lot.

“It started to look more and more like it was the right thing to do: play in a top team and have more chances during games.

Gyokeres has targeted matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s mark of 69 goals in a calendar year but has just two games to score seven times.