How many goals would Gyokeres score in the Premier League?

Viktor Gyökeres arrived in Portugal in the summer of 2023 and has taken the domestic league by storm. In 102 appearances for Sporting CP, the Swedish striker has scored an incredible 97 goals and provided 27 assists.

A key figure for the Lions, Gyökeres helped them secure two league titles—finishing as the top scorer in both—with 29 and 39 goals respectively—and a Portuguese Cup.

His impressive performances have attracted the attention of several major clubs, particularly in the Premier League, with Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United among those reportedly interested.

Given this interest, The Telegraph investigated whether Gyokeres's goal-scoring prowess would translate to England. The answer may surprise you.

The newspaper analysed the 15 most expensive attacking signings from Portugal to the Premier League over the past 15 years.

Focusing on forwards, wingers, and attacking midfielders, they compared goals-per-game ratios from the players' final season in the Portuguese Liga with their subsequent goals-per-game in England.

Despite the Portuguese league being outside Europe's top five, this hasn't stopped English clubs from spending significant sums on players who shone there.

In recent years, names like Darwin Núñez, Luis Díaz, Evanilson, Fábio Vieira, and Bruno Fernandes have all made the switch from Portugal to the Premier League.

An indication of the relative strength of the two competitions is that none of these players has managed to replicate their Portuguese scoring rate in the more competitive world of English football.

Even players like Luis Díaz and Bruno Fernandes, who have undoubtedly been successful signings, haven't been able to maintain the goalscoring rate they demonstrated in their final Portuguese campaigns.

Evaluating the 15 most expensive attacking signings from Portugal to the Premier League since 2010, the analysis revealed a 62% drop in goalscoring. These players averaged 0.41 goals per game in their last seasons in Portugal and subsequently averaged 0.15 goals per game in England.

Of these 15 players, only one scored at a higher rate in the Premier League than in Portugal: former Benfica player Raúl Jiménez, formerly of Wolverhampton and now with Fulham.

But how many goals would Viktor Gyokeres score in the Premier League? Based on this analysis, the Swede would score... around 15 goals in the English league. A significant drop from the 39 he scored this season in Portugal.

However, it's worth remembering that football isn't a matter of simple logic or mathematics, and Gyokeres has proven over the past two years that he has the ability to play, score, and shine in any league.