Fulham manager Marco Silva has rejected suggestions that Viktor Gyokeres was overlooked by Premier League clubs before his move to Sporting CP, revealing that his side held talks with the striker's agent a year before he left Coventry City.
Arsenal completed a £63.7million deal for the Sweden international earlier this month after he scored 97 goals in 102 games for the Portuguese side. Silva insisted that claims of a lack of interest from English clubs were 'nonsense'.
'That story that nobody had noticed Gyokeres, that's nonsense,' Silva told Portuguese outlet A Bola. 'The top clubs hadn't noticed him, that's obvious. But as for mid-table clubs, all of them had. I spoke with his agent, or rather the club spoke with his agent. At the time we had Aleksandar Mitrovic, and he wasn't so easy to replace.'
Silva remembered Gyokeres well from their Championship meetings. Coventry were the only side to beat Fulham twice during their promotion-winning 2021/22 campaign, with the forward scoring three goals in those matches. 'He was a player with tremendous power and good finishing ability, which he has improved since then,' Silva added.
Looking ahead to Gyokeres at Arsenal, Silva believes he will strengthen the Gunners' game plan, particularly in transitions. 'In their initial pressing phase, they are very strong, but when that doesn't work, they drop back with two lines of four. That leaves space to exploit, and that's where Gyokeres will fit well,' he explained. However, he noted that the striker may face new challenges in Arsenal's positional attack.
'Whether it will have the same impact as in Portugal, we'll have to analyse very carefully,' Silva concluded.
