Robin Bairner
Viktor Gyokeres, Sporting CP, Mohamed Salah
© IMAGO
Viktor Gyokeres is not a "natural finisher" according to former Premier League striker Troy Deeney. He could barely be more wrong...
Gyokeres is one of the most wanted strikers in Europe, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea among a litany of teams chasing the Sporting CP ace.
With 25 goals in 23 outings for the Lisbon side, his record in front of goal appears beyond question and has led to rumours that PSG could be tempted to trigger his €100 million release clause in January.
His scoring power would appear beyond question, yet former Premier League striker Troy Deeney doesn’t seem to think so.
Speaking to TalkSport, Deeney claimed: “You know when you say something the clip is going to come back in six months.
“I genuinely think he's a good footballer, he works really hard, all of that. But I don't think he's a natural finisher.
“I don't think he takes either Arsenal or Man Utd to winning the Premier League. That's just my opinion, and if he did, they'd have already bought him.”
Gyokeres has been exceptional this seaosn
© IMAGO - Gyokeres has been exceptional this seaosn
Viktor Gyokeres: An elite finisher
The statistics suggest Deeney could scarcely be more wrong about Gyokeres’ finishing.
The Sweden star is proven class in front of goal, with his xG figures throughout his career proving that he recent glut of goals are no surprise.
When it comes to judging players on their ability to keep cool in front of goal, xG is the key statistic. When a striker scores a higher number of goals than their xG figure, it suggests they are a strong finisher. Caution should be exercised when using it when the sample size is small, but Gyokeres has consistently performed well above average throughout his career.
Since the 2019/20 season, when the 26-year-old first turned out for St Pauli in the 2.Bundesliga, he has overperformed in this statistic in every season with one exception – the 2021/22 campaign with Coventry, when he scored a still impressive 17 goals from 19.2xG.
He has 94 career league goals from 83.9xG, which is not the record of a poor finisher.
Viktor Gyokeres: Finishing performance in league football
Season Goals xG
2019/20 7 6.3
2020/21 3 2.6
2021/22 17 19.2
2022/23 21 19.5
2023/24 29 22.5
2024/25 17 13.9
Take Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah, for example. The Egypt international has been the best Premier League attacker over the course of the last six years yet he has scored 133 goals from an xG of 133.2.
Indeed, Gyokeres' figures stack up well in comparison even to Erling Haaland, who has scored 136 goals from 120.7xG. This represents an overperformance in front of goal of around 12.7% since he moved to Borussia Dortmund. Gyokeres almost matches that as he stands on 12%.
Overperforming in terms of xG for a prolonged period of time is very difficult, yet Gyokeres has done it, proving that if he is nothing else, he is undoubtedly an expert when it comes to taking his chances.