Ahead of Thursday evening’s Europa League fixtures, Atalanta have been warned of the potential threats posed by Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres, a player who could have joined La Dea in the summer if things had worked out differently.
Atalanta, the leaders of Group D after the first round of fixtures, are set to face off against the second-placed Portuguese giants at 17.45 UK time on Thursday.
Gyokeres, who joined Sporting from Championship side Coventry City for a total fee of around €24m this summer, has been identified by Calciomercato.com as the player to watch heading into the European tie.
The 25-year-old Swede has chipped in with six goals from his first seven appearances across all competitions, five of which have come in the league and one in Sporting’s Europa League opener against Sturm Graz.
At his current rate, Gyokeres is averaging a goal every 105 minutes of action since his record-breaking move to Lisbon.
He now also has a release clause written into his contract, which stands a reported figure of €100m.
Atalanta, however, will know the challenges that facing Gyokeres will bring, as the club had followed him closely before he joined Sporting, and had been close to signing him themselves during the summer transfer window.
Calciomercato reports that Gyokeres was seen as the ideal long-term replacement for Duvan Zapata, however, the club eventually focussed their attention on beating Inter to the signing of Gianluca Scamacca instead.