Viktor Gyokeres will now compete directly against his international teammate, Alexander Isak, for the Premier League title, after the latter joined Liverpool on deadline day.
Isak completed a £130 million move to the Merseyside club on Monday, smashing the British record transfer fee.
This comes after the 25-year-old had handed in a transfer request and refused to train or play for former club Newcastle United, with the player eventually earning his move to the north-west.
Gyokeres signed for Arsenal for £63 million earlier in the window, and the two Swedes will now be persistently compared to each other in their domestic career.
Viktor Gyokeres reveals what he said to Alexander Isak after star completed Liverpool move
It’s well documented that Arsenal also wanted to sign Isak this summer.
However, the Gunners ultimately opted to allocate their resources more evenly across their squad, rather than spending the majority of their budget on one specific player.
Thus, Isak was deemed too expensive by Andrea Berta, and Gyokeres arrived in N5 instead, along with seven other players this summer.
The pair of strikers will now convene at Sweden’s national team camp for the next ten days, as the Blue and Yellow prepare to take on Slovenia and Kosovo as part of their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.
Speaking to the media, Gyokeres revealed what he’s said to Isak since the move to Liverpool materialised.
“I haven’t spoken to him too much, because he just came [to Sweden training],” Gyokeres said.
“So yeah, I said hi to him and congratulated him for the move, and yeah, not much more.”
The duo could play alongside each other against Slovenia in Ljubljana on Friday.
Viktor Gyokeres’ statistics vs Alexander Isak’s statistics
Isak is an exceptional player, and will undoubtedly elevate the level of Liverpool’s attack by some distance.
That said, the former Newcastle United man is injury-prone, and there are subsequently concerns about his durability at the top level.
Meanwhile, Gyokeres may be somewhat older, but has been relatively injury-free throughout his career, and broke through later than Isak.
| Statistical Comparison 2024/25 (League Only) | ||
| Stat | Gyokeres | Isak |
| Appearances | 33 | 34 |
| Goals | 39 | 23 |
| Assists | 7 | 6 |
| Shots per 90 | 4.08 | 3.1 |
| Expected Goals per 90 | 0.99 | 0.66 |
| Key Passes per 90 | 1.96 | 1.34 |
| Expected Assists per 90 | 0.22 | 0.12 |
As shown by the data above, Gyokeres actually produced more impressive numbers than his counterpart in almost every area of the game last season.
However, this was of course in the Portuguese top flight, rather than the Premier League, where Gyokeres still has to prove himself.
Liverpool have certainly got the better player, although there are valid question marks around the investment in Isak, which could ultimately mean Arsenal end up getting the better deal.
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