£1m Coventry City transfer will be talked about for decades | OneFootball

Viktor Gyökeres proved to be a fantastic signing for Coventry City.

Coventry City's recruitment has played a huge role in the club's transformation.

After years of turmoil and lower league obscurity, the Sky Blues have settled down as one of the Championship clubs with their eyes firmly on promotion since their ascent to the second tier in 2021.

However, one bargain will always stick out above the rest. Joining the club from Brighton & Hove Albion in a £1 million deal in 2021, Viktor Gyökeres went on to shine in the Midlands before going on to become one of Europe's big names in the goalscoring department.

Viktor Gyokeres would become a Coventry star after bargain move

After joining Brighton in 2018, Gyökeres would be sent out on loan to the 2. Bundesliga in 2019, where he would score seven times and register four assists in a St. Pauli side looking to secure promotion to the top flight. He would return to English football the following season, where he endured a rather barren season at Swansea City, with the Swede failing to score in 11 Championship appearances before joining Coventry on loan as they surged to the second tier.

He would register his first goal in English football as the Sky Blues beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0. While he would score just three times as Cov achieved promotion, his form would skyrocket in the Championship after joining the club permanently in what would prove to be a bargain deal.

Netting in a 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest on the opening weekend, Coventry would start well as they returned to the CBS Arena after sharing Birmingham City's St Andrew's stadium for the two seasons prior.

With Mark Robins' side securing a 12th-place finish in the second tier, the Swedish bagsman would find the back of the net 17 times, while providing five assists. And he would go on to become even more of a talisman.

A bullish forward blessed with fantastic physical attributes, Gyökeres would score 21 goals and provide 12 assists as the Sky Blues reached the play-off final in May - confirming that the club were now a real promotion contender in the Championship. Though the penalty shootout loss to Luton Town at Wembley would prove to be the moment that sealed his future away from the club.

Gyokeres would become a European star after Coventry exit

For the first time in his career, Gyökeres had built some real momentum as a recognised centre-forward, and his reputation would climb through the roof following a £20 million switch to Portuguese giants Sporting.

Ruben Amorim's side would storm to the league title that term, with Gyökeres netting 29 times as they finished 10 points ahead of arch rivals Benfica.

With Sporting back in the Champions League the following term, he would score six times, with a hat-trick against Manchester City being his standout performance in the competition. But his exploits back on Portuguese soil would earn him praise across the continent.

Sporting lifted the Portuguese title once again, while Gyökeres scored a whopping 39 times in 33 appearances, before he finished the term with 54 across all competitions.

Two sensational seasons and bags of goals prompted Arsenal to pounce on the forward over the summer, with the Gunners parting with £63.5 million for his services.

After initially struggling to find his feet in England, the full circle had been completed for Gyökeres, who returned as a continental star, four years after Coventry signed the forward for just £1 million.