‘Potter sold me the vision of family’
New boy on the part former Swans boss played in loan
VIKTOR Gyokeres says Graham Potter gave him a glowing assessment of Swansea City prior to his loan move from Brighton to the Liberty Stadium.
The 22-year-old became Swansea’s sixth signing of the transfer window on Friday after joining on a seasonlong loan deal from the Seagulls.
It comes after Gyokeres, who is understood to have attracted interest from Championship rivals Cardiff City, Preston and Queens Park Rangers, featured in all three of Brighton’s Carabao Cup matches against Portsmouth, Preston and Manchester United this season.
And the Swedish attacker says the words of former Swansea boss Potter, along with those of his staff Bjorn Hamberg and Billy Reid, played a key role in his decision to move to South Wales.
“He (Potter) said good things about the club, Bjorn and Billy as well. They all said it was like a big family here, so that helped and felt good,” he said.
“It feels very good to be here. I came two days ago and then I trained yesterday. I played some minutes (against Millwall), so it’s been good.”
Gyokeres caught the eye of Potter after scoring in Brighton’s 4-0 win over Portsmouth last month. His performance in that outing earned him further opportunities in the cup competition, with Potter admitting he had been hugely impressed by the forward’s efforts in matches and on the training ground. However, Gyokeres has revealed he always felt that a loan move away from the Amex Stadium was potentially on the cards. When asked if a temporary exit from the South Coast was always destined to happen, Gyokeres responded: “Not all the time, but I knew it could happen. “I knew they (Brighton) wanted me there and I wanted to be there also and show myself, but I always knew it was a possibility that I’d go out on loan. “But when Swansea was an option, I felt it was a really good option. “Over the past few days it became
clear it was what I needed and what I wanted to do.
“It’s a big club and a club I knew from before. One of my friends from Sweden is a Swansea fan, so he told me a few things about the club.
“But I knew it’s a big club and I knew it would be right for me.”
Gyokeres replaced fellow summer capture Jamal Lowe late on in Swansea’s 2-1 triumph over Millwall at the Liberty on Saturday.
Victory means Swansea occupy fourth spot in the Championship during the international break having claimed 10 of the 12 points on offer so far.
And the versatile two-cap Sweden international, whose preferred position is as at No. 9, is hopeful that he can deliver the goods for Steve Cooper’s side this season.
“I’m ready to play. I just want to play football and get the minutes, that’s what I want,” he added.
“This is a really good team, so it’s going to be fun to be here.
“They are really good (players) and good people.
“They have been very nice to me and welcomed me here.”
And on his targets, Gyokeres said: “To help the team as much as I can with my qualities.
“Hopefully, we can keep going like we have started this season.”