Why didn't Viktor Gyokeres make it at Brighton? How Arsenal's No.9 fell short during first Premier League stint

Brighton have a stellar record when it comes to spotting and developing talented players, with Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister among those to have generated big profit for the club. Just like with those three players, there were very high hopes for a 19-year-old Gyokeres when he was plucked from Brommapojkarna, the Swedish club that is also responsible for bringing through Tottenham duo Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall. 

After his transfer went through in January 2018, Gyokeres went straight into Brighton's Under-23s squad, and scored seven goals in the second half of the season to help the Seagulls gain promotion to the Premier League 2. There were no clear signs he had the potential to be a superstar, though, and he was made to wait for his senior bow.

It eventually came in August that year, as Gyokeres started in a 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the second round of the League Cup. However, that was one of just five first-team outings the Swede would manage in 2018-19, and he didn't find the net in any of them. Although no one could fault his application levels, Gyokeres didn't immediately stand out as a difference-maker in the final third.

"It was more about him being incredibly athletic, powerful, and a threat in terms of his pace behind," former Brighton midfielder Dale Stephens told The Athletic when quizzed on his first impressions of Gyokeres. "But I wouldn’t have said at the time he was a natural goal-scorer. It's not a natural gift; it's something he's worked very hard on."

In Gyokeres' defence, it didn't help that Brighton played him on the left wing instead of as a central striker. He wasn't getting a look-in as a senior No.9 behind Glen Murray, while Aaron Connolly took that role in the U23s team.

"He could play through the middle, but he kind of played off the left. He would play as a striker now and again, but we had Connolly, who was really good," Josh Kerr, another of Gyokeres' team-mates at the time, told Sky Sports.

Kerr added on how Gyokeres performed in that role: "You want your wingers to work back and help your full-backs out - doing the thankless task of doubling up when you go to some of those tough away grounds. He would do it without you having to ask him, which is massive for certain teams or managers. We obviously rated him highly then, but we didn't think he would kick on as much as he has. He was adjusting to life in England, but we could see month-by-month a difference in him each time. He would always drift in, constantly wanting to get to the goal."

Despite his unshakable mentality and impressive work rate, Brighton officials ultimately deemed the adjustment curve to be too steep. The decision was made for Gyokeres to go out on loan, with St Pauli handing him the chance to play regularly in the German second tier.

Gyokeres continued to primarily operate from the left flank for St Pauli, and racked up a respectable combined total of 10 goals and assists in 26 Bundesliga 2 appearances, finishing the campaign as the club's third-highest scorer. He also left a lasting impression on the manager, Jos Luhukay.

He ran like a racehorse," Luhukay told reporters after Gyokeres scored twice in a 3-1 win over Wehen Wiesbaden in December 2019. "I think he wanted to play for another half-hour. He was indestructible."

The Athletic reports that the German side submitted an offer to sign Gyokeres outright the following summer, only for Brighton to reject the approach under the belief he still had something to offer at the Amex. As such, when Gyokeres returned to England, he was determined to force his way into then-manager Graham Potter's plans, and he had a breakthrough moment of sorts in September 2020 when, after being shifted to centre-forward, he finally opened his senior goal account for Brighton and set up another in a 4-0 League Cup rout of Portsmouth. 

"I think he has got attributes that are different," Potter said after the game. "It’s not the easiest to play up front on his own, which was the role he was asked to do. I thought he kept going, he got his rewards at the end. He is learning but he has got qualities that I think we can use. He is one of those we will keep assessing where he is at and make the right decision for him in terms of his development. But he has been good in the group and we are pleased with him."

Potter also started Gyokeres in Brighton's fourth-round loss to Manchester United later that month, but he still wasn't getting a look-in in the Premier League, with Danny Welbeck and Neal Maupay serving as Brighton's first-choice strikers. It was no surprise, then, when Gyokeres moved to Championship outfit Swansea City on a season-long loan three days later.

Gyokeres did not make Potter regret that decision. His time at Swansea was nothing short of a major disappointment, with one goal in 12 games leading to Brighton recalling the frontman in January. ESPN reported that a source close to Swansea described Gyokeres as "looking lost" during his brief time in south Wales, while head coach Steve Cooper suggested the loan move went through too late for him to settle quickly.

Brighton immediately loaned Gyokeres out again, this time to Coventry City, where his struggles for consistency persisted. He only found the net three times in 19 Championship outings for the Sky Blues, with just seven of those coming as a starter. Surprisingly, though, Coventry felt there were enough positives to submit a £1m permanent transfer offer for the Sweden international, which Brighton accepted.

Gyokeres left the Amex with only one senior goal and eight appearances to his name, none of which came in the Premier League. That made him a risky purchase for Coventry, yet Mark Robins always believed he would come good, clearly seeing something that Potter didn't.

"Viktor is a talented striker with good power, pace and movement, and great potential," the ex-Sky Blues boss said after the deal for Gyokeres was confirmed. "He showed a terrific attitude when he was with us on loan. He grew in confidence, and we hope that he will continue to show the same improvement and desire."

Robins' gut instinct turned out to be correct. Gyokeres proceeded to score 43 goals and register 17 assists over the next two seasons for Coventry, helping them reach the Championship play-off final in 2022-23, which they lost on penalties to Luton Town. The Sky Blues then made a cool £19m (£25m) profit when selling Gyokeres to Sporting, where he established himself as one of the most deadly strikers in Europe, scoring 63 times in all competitions last season to claim the highly coveted Gerd Muller Trophy at the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Gyokeres' rapid rise doesn't reflect well on Brighton, with it suggested that they should have given him more time and opportunities to find his feet. However, club CEO Paul Barber has revealed that it was the current Arsenal No.9's call to cut all ties.

"Viktor progressed exceptionally well, but he wanted to progress even further faster," Barber said in a recent interview with Sky Sports. "At that time, we couldn't guarantee him first-team football here. We were very happy to continue to loan Viktor so he could continue to progress. But I think it says a lot about Viktor himself that he wanted a more permanent base sooner. He eventually got that and the rest is history. It's always good when you spot a young talent, nurture them and you see them go on to even better things."

Barber added to The Athletic on whether he harbours any regrets: "We have to accept the decision to sell for what it was – right for the player, and right for the club. Player recruitment isn’t an exact science, neither are decisions to move players on or when to do so. You can always look back on decisions using the benefit of hindsight, but there will always be reasons for them. It’s about making a series of judgments in real time. Most clubs have similar examples. It’s football. It happens."

Brighton will be praying that Gyokeres doesn't come back to haunt them this week. Fabian Hurzeler's side are still fighting for European qualification despite falling to 11th in the Premier League standings, and will take some encouragement from their performance at the Emirates in December, where they were slightly unlucky to lose 2-1.

Diego Coppola, Jan Paul van Hecke and Lewis Dunk were able to keep Gyokeres on a tight leash that day, restricting the Arsenal ace to just 23 touches in his 71 minutes on the pitch. Something has clicked for him since then, though, much to the delight of Arteta.

"We know his qualities. He is undoubtedly an incredible striker. We need to feed to his quality, we need to understand him better, he needs to understand the team, the league better, I think we are on the right trajectory," the Arsenal manager said last week. "Confidence is the fundamental pillar for any person, whatever you do in life. And when you feel like you belong somewhere and you are liked, even better, if you are loved.

"If you feel the trust of the people around you, I think then you can really hit the levels that everybody expects from you. Viktor now is in a moment where he starts to get those feelings and that is a really positive thing for performances."

With hindsight, it's bizarre that Brighton never gave Gyokeres the platform to build that confidence and unleash his true self. The Seagulls faithful will no doubt be agonising over what might have been, a feeling Gyokeres can exacerbate if he pulls out his trademark Bane-inspired goal celebration at the Amex as Arsenal aim to take another big step towards their first Premier League title since 2004.