Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has warned the club and their rivals Arsenal against signing Sporting striker Viktor Gyökeres.
The former England international is of the opinion that Gyökeres is not a good fit for the Premier League, adding that the player will not be able to dominate physically.
Ferdinand stated this on his YouTube channel, claiming that Mikel Arteta and Rúben Amorim did not need a player like the forward leading their attack.
According to the former Red Devil, the striker is not going to get most of the opportunities he gets to score from in England’s first division.
“I don’t think he’s the guy. I’ve not watched him loads, but I’ve probably watched him three times really, really closely,” Ferdinand said.
“Three times I’ve watched him and I’ve gone, ‘He ain’t getting those opportunities in the Premier League.’ When I see him physically matched, I don’t see it. What else is there?”
“That’s the question I’m asking. Is there enough after he’s physically matched to get a goal? Physicality is a massive thing in the game today.”
“A Rúben Amorim team needs physicality and runners, but there’s no real physicality in this squad. It just isn’t there.”
The former central defender continued, “I believe Arsenal could go for him, but he’s not the guy. I remember when Timo Werner first came to Chelsea, they played Brighton, and he said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that’ in terms of the physicality. Physicality is such a big thing in the Premier League.”
Gyökeres is currently enjoying his football at Sporting CP in the Portuguese first division, with 27 goals from just 24 matches this season.
He has also netted another six goals in eight UEFA Champions League games.
