· November 28 2024, 19:30
**You know you've made it in football when someone is dubbed the 'next' you. That has now happened to Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres who is on Newcastle United's radar along with a host of other top clubs.**
However, Craig Hope now believes that the Magpies might skip the real Gyokeres in favour of the 'next Viktor Gyokeres' who we assume has been handed that title purely for the fact that he plays for Coventry and has the talent to play at a much higher level.
20-year-old Norman Bassette is the player in question who joined Coventry for just £2.5 million in the summer and is already being looked at as someone who could make the jump to the top of the game after leaving the Sky Blues like Gyokeres did.
Bassette was called up to the senior Belgium side during the last international break and is being tipped for big things.
Norman Bassette - the next Viktor Gyokeres?
Craig Hope has compared Norman Bassette to Viktor Gyokeres
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In fairness, Craig Hope does outline several more similarities between Bassette and Gyokeres in his [Newcastle Confidential](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-14137359/NEWCASTLE-CONFIDENTIAL-Toon-eye-new-Viktor-Gyokeres-ex-Sunderland-boss-given-key-role-young-stars-development.html) column, saying that they are of a similar build and have a similar skillset, and that they even look alike.
Gyokeres left Coventry and has gone on to score 67 goals in 70 games for Sporting. Newcastle were monitoring the Swedish star before his move to Portugal and will be hoping to avoid making the same mistake with Bassette.
It's not known how much Coventry will demand for Bassette, but you'd imagine it will be a hell of a lot less than it would cost to land Gyokeres these days.
Bassette could be one to keep an eye on this season
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Bassette could be one to keep an eye on in the Championship to see if he's the kind of player who'd fit in at Newcastle.
In truth, Newcastle's attacking options are so limited these days, the fact that he has two working legs and knows how to score a goal should be all we need to know about him.
Mind, in his 10 games this season, Bassette has only found the net once, so for all of Hope's positive praise, the numbers aren't exactly mind-blowing, but he is still only 20.