Talented forward has all the attributes

PLAYER PROFILE VIKTOR GYOKERES COVENTRY CITY STRIKER

- Chris Dunlavy

VIKTOR Gyokeres looks like a target man. Six foot two, broad and powerful. When the ball goes long, he’s invariably lurking beneath.

But looks can be deceiving. Speaking after the Swede’s precision strike earned Coventry a 1-0 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road in November, even Slaven Bilic was forced to correct himself.

“We had him marked down as their target man,” said the former Hornets boss. “But he’s not a typical target man because target men have problems with movement.

“He is a player who can not only keep and hold the ball but he can hurt you. He can run into the channels and he’s strong. He is a good player, a very good player.”

It is a summary that cuts to the essence of what makes Gyokeres such a formidable Championship operator and helps to explain why, with 18 goals and eight assists pre-weekend, the 24-year-old was behind only Middlesbrough’s Chuba Akpom for goal contributions this term.