Meet 'the other' Luis Suarez: Sporting's new goal machine ensuring Viktor Gyokeres isn't being missed ahead of Arsenal striker's return to Lisbon

Born in Santa Marta, Colombia, Suarez moved to Europe in 2016 after Granada plucked him from boyhood club Leones and placed the then-teenager in their reserve side. The Spanish side’s owners, the Pozzo family, subsequently moved Suarez to one of their other clubs, Watford, 18 months later, though he would never make an appearance for the Hornets.

Rather, Suarez spent the next three seasons back on loan in Spain, first with Real Valladolid’s ‘B’ team and then second-division side Gimnastic. However, it wasn’t until the 2019-20 campaign that he truly caught the eye, as he plundered 19 goals for Real Zaragoza in the Segunda Division.

Those performances convinced the Pozzos to transfer Suarez back to Granada as they prepared for their first-ever European campaign having finished seventh in La Liga to qualify for the Europa League. Suarez scored seven goals during his maiden top-flight campaign, and followed that up with a further eight the next season, though that wasn’t enough to keep Granada from suffering relegation.

Suarez wouldn’t drop down with Granada, though, as he instead swapped Spain for France, joining Marseille in a €10m (£8.5m/$11.5m) deal in the summer of 2022. He made a dream start to life in Ligue 1, too, scoring twice on his debut against Reims to help secure a 4-1 win.

That, however, proved to be the peak of Suarez’s time at Stade Velodrome. He would make just 10 further appearances - only three of which were starts - and score one more goal before being deemed surplus to requirements a mere six months into a five-year contract. He would thus return to Spain and join relegation-threatened Almeria on an initial loan deal in January 2023.

It was agreed that Almeria would make the move permanent if Suarez helped them survive in La Liga, and though he was far from prolific, the Colombian’s four goals and five assists were crucial to his new side finishing just one place and one point above the drop zone.

But it would prove to only be temporary reprieve. Almeria failed to win any of their first 28 La Liga games in 2023-24, and eventually went down having amassed a measly 21 points. Suarez was forced to watch most of the campaign from the sidelines after suffering a broken leg in the closing stages of October’s 3-3 draw with former club Granada. In a cruel twist, Suarez had earlier scored a hat-trick in the same game, but ended the match in tears on a stretcher.

That injury left Suarez in a dark place, and he struggled with his mental health for the months that followed.

"I went through a depression that I gradually recovered from, with work and psychologists," he revealed to El Espectador. "I couldn't even get out of bed. I had an injury… Without it, I wouldn't have hit rock bottom. It helped strengthen my mental capacity. When I was injured, I felt like I could have lost everything, but if I hadn't lived through those difficult moments, I wouldn't be the player I am today.

"I wanted to change everything. I let my hair grow a little, I changed the name on my jersey [he started using his father's name, Luiz Javier Suarez]. These are stages that you close and others open."

Suarez thus found himself back in the Segunda, and scored just two goals in Almeria’s first seven games of the campaign. But after the year anniversary of his horrendous injury had passed, Suarez became nigh on unstoppable for opposition defences, finishing the season as the second-tier’s top scorer with 27 goals, which he supplemented with eight assists as well as a hat-trick to knock Sevilla out of the Copa del Rey.

Given their success with Gyokeres, Sporting were convinced that Suarez could translate that form into the Liga Portugal, despite him having managed only 26 goals in 107 top-flight league matches across his time in Spain and France. They first made contact with him in February 2025 as they prepared for Gyokeres’ exit, and by the time his €25m (£22m/$29m) move to Lisbon was confirmed, those in the know were already tipping Suarez for great things at Sporting.

"Because of his work ethic, his characteristics, and his statistics, he's the closest thing to Gyokeres that Sporting could sign," said former Sporting forward and Spanish native, Tonito, to A Bola. "I know that's a strong opinion, considering everything Gyokeres achieved in two years at Alvalade, and also because we'll have to wait and see how Suarez performs in practice, but he's a player who works very hard, scores a lot of goals, and has a lot of quality.

"It seems to me a very good signing and, I repeat, the closest thing to Gyokeres that Sporting could sign."

From a goal-scoring perspective, that prediction has proven to be correct. Suarez has netted 33 times in 42 games thus far this season, including 24 in 25 league games for the defending Portuguese champions. By contrast, Gyokeres managed 43 goals across all competitions in his first season at the Alvalade.

"I work to improve day by day and, of course, I'd like to surpass Viktor Gyokeres, but it's something that doesn't keep me up at night," Suarez told Colombian television channel Win Sports in January when asked about exceeding the achievements of the man who came before him in Lisbon. "It's a typical question, 'how many goals do I want to score in a season?' I always say that I don't have a ceiling; I work so that each season and each moment is something to improve upon, always."

They are, however, different kinds of players, with Suarez far more mobile than his predecessor. The 28-year-old has even been known to start the odd game off the left-hand side during his career, such is his agility and ability with the ball at his feet. Gyokeres, by contrast, basically had his Brighton career ruined because of the Seagulls’ insistence that he could play from wide rather than through the middle.

“With Viktor, it took us longer to adapt because he wasn't a player who sought out connections, first touches, and those one-twos, but rather depth," Sporting midfielder Pedro Goncalves explained to Jornal Sporting in September. "At that point, it was harder for me to adapt to his style of play, but then he made history at the club, as we know. Now, the start has been quite easy playing with Luis and [Francisco] Trincao."

While Suarez has been a revelation domestically for Sporting, he has also been a key contributor to their deepest run in the Champions League since they reached the quarter-finals in 1983. Suarez has scored five goals in 10 European appearances this term, most notably a match-winning brace against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain that helped Borges’ side finish seventh in the league phase and thus avoid the play-off round.

"I believe I'm at the best moment of my career and my life," Suarez said earlier in the season. "But there are still things to come, voids I have to fill... But yes, I consider that I'm at my best moment. I came to Sporting to be happy and I was very well received, my family is delighted. In short, on a personal level I am at the peak of my happiness."

That happiness has also translated into the international arena, where Suarez has established himself as Colombia’s first-choice striker ahead of the summer’s World Cup.

Following in the footsteps of his compatriots Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Luis Diaz in thriving within Portuguese football, Suarez has usurped the likes of Jhon Duran in the national pecking order, and is the favourite to start Colombia’s opening game against Uzbekistan in Mexico City on June 17.

The highlight of Suarez’s international career thus far undoubtedly came back in September, when he scored four times in a 6-3 win over Venezuela, becoming the first player to record a ‘poker’ in CONMEBOL qualifying since his namesake for Uruguay back in 2011.

Before attention turns to the World Cup, Suarez still has club matters to attend to. Sporting are currently five points behind Liga Portugal leaders Porto, albeit with a game in hand, while they hold a 1-0 lead over Porto following the first leg of their Portuguese Cup semi-final.

Their most difficult assignment, however, is likely to come over the next week as Sporting aim to become the first team to beat Arsenal in Europe this season. Despite such daunting opposition, Suarez heads into the game with a positive attitude.

"We’re not afraid of anyone," he told Record. "We respect all our opponents, but we don’t fear any of them… When I first arrived in Europe, I wasn’t mentally ready for this kind of challenge. I have the responsibility to show why they brought me here. That’s what drives me the most, because I must repay the club and the fans for their trust."

Certainly Arsenal won’t be taking the challenge of stopping Suarez lightly. Only Harry Kane has scored more league goals this season in Europe’s top-30 leagues (according to UEFA coefficient) than the player Borges has dubbed a “beast”. And if the Gunners aren’t on their game, then the man bought to replace their own big-money striker could yet prove a thorn in their side.

Click here to read article