Leeds United, Everton and Bournemouth set to battle for 14-goal Championship striker this summer
Coventry City centre-forward Viktor Gyokeres is expected to leave the Sky Blues in the summer, with Leeds United, Everton and Bournemouth all reportedly interested in penning a deal.
The Sweden international has 15 goals and 4 assists across all competitions after impressing in the Championship this season, attracting the interest of the Premier League trio.
Several suitors allegedly came in for Gyokeres in January, but Coventry were unwilling to sanction a mid-season sale. However, they look set to consider offers at the end of the campaign.
This is according to TEAMtalk, who claim that Leeds United will push to sign the 24-year-old in the summer, regardless of whether they are relegated or not.
But, with Everton reportedly seeing a bid rejected in January, along with Bournemouth being heavily interested, it would be a surprise if they don’t go back in for the Swede too.
As mentioned, the Coventry striker has impressed in the Championship this term after netting 14 league goals, with only Middlesbrough’s Chuba Akpom scoring more (19) so far.
The Sky Blues slapped a hefty £25m price tag on Gyokeres in the winter to ward off interest from the Premier League, but with him just having 16 months remaining on his current deal, the second-tier side may be forced to accept less than that this summer.
Leeds could certainly do with some added firepower up front, after their number nine Patrick Bamford has once again struggled to maintain fitness.
The Whites have heavily relied upon Rodrigo Moreno to score goals this season, netting 10 goals in 18 Premier League appearances so far, but that may not be enough to stave off the threat of relegation.
With that in mind, a move for Gyokeres would make a lot of sense for their new manager Javi Garcia.
On the other hand, Everton are arguably just as desperate, if not more-so for a new centre-forward.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has endured another injury-plagued campaign this season, while Neal Maupay has scored just one goal for the Toffees since joining from Brighton last summer.
In fact, Gyokeres has netted more goals than Calvert-Lewin, Maupay, Dwight McNeil, Demarai Gray, Alex Iwobi, Amadou Onana, Conor Coady and Seamus Coleman combined this term, so there is a clear need for Sean Dyche to bring in attacking reinforcements.
It is believed that the Blues came closest to securing a deal for Gyokeres in January before Coventry upped their demands, so it seems likely they’ll compete with Leeds for him
Finally, Bournemouth have relied upon the likes of Dominic Solanke, Phillip Billing, Jadon Anthony and Kieffer Moore in attack this season, who have all netted for times respectively, but the Swedish striker would arguably be an upgrade on a lot of Gary O’Neil’s options.
With all three teams in the midst of a relegation battle, Gyokeres’ ultimate destination may depend on which team avoids the drop to the Championship.
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