Everton Should Target Gylfi Sigurdsson Ahead Of Wayne Rooney
I can see why the Everton board would be extremely interested in bringing Wayne Rooney back to Goodison.
As a teenager he announced himself as a fantastic footballing prodigy while playing in Everton blue. Since then he has moved to Manchester United, won plenty of trophies, became their all-time leading goalscorer, captained England and also broke the Three Lions goalscoring record.
His name still sells a great number of replica shirts and returning to the Toffees will no doubt increase the club’s exposure worldwide.
But football is more than just a business.
Rooney left Everton to conquer the world and he’s done that but that’s not the player that Ronald Koeman would be getting if he re-signed the striker this summer.
We’ve all seen the decline of Rooney in recent seasons. He’s a player that’s incapable of having the same impact he once had at the very top of the game.
Everton want to break into the Premier League’s Top Four and while Wayne still has the reputation and some talent, he doesn’t possess the threat required to influence the biggest of games.
He often comes across as a player in transition, a striker looking to become a playmaker. But in all honesty he struggles to convince in either position and he often slows things down.
So for me, Everton should put Rooney to one side and concentrate on bringing in stars that can improve the current squad and have a greater impact. I also think Dutch boss Koeman will share my feelings on this one.
Long-term target Gylfi Sigurdsson could be a terrific signing if they can bring him from Swansea City.
At times it seemed as if the Icelandic international helped keep the Swans in the Premier League single-handedly.
He cracked in nine goals and also helped with thirteen league assists. In the same year, Rooney only managed to score five and create five assists.
Gylfi is also younger at twenty-seven years of age and is arguably coming into his peak. The left-sided forward managed to start all but one of the league fixtures for Swansea last term, while Rooney only started fifteen times for Man Utd.
The creative talent also plays well against the bigger sides. He scored against Everton, Man United, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool during the 2016-17 campaign.
Sigurdsson is a versatile performer who can play off either wing, in behind a main striker or up-top himself. He is a difference maker and someone who can fit into Koeman’s first team plans for next season.
Now he may cost up in the region of £40m but in today’s market that looks to be decent business for an established Premier League star who is still in his mid to late twenties.
At Everton you’d expect to see him flourish and look for more goals and assists. There’s no reason why he couldn’t be hitting twenty league goals a season at Everton or anywhere else for that matter.
Swansea will hope that he stays and he can hit that figure at the Liberty Stadium next term. Club Chairman Huw Jenkins has stated his desire to keep the player:
“It’s hard to suggest what sort of value Gylfi has in today’s market, but to us he is priceless and we’ve got to make sure we do everything in our power to make sure he stays with us.”
That in a way is another reason why I’d prioritise the Icelandic playmaker ahead of Rooney.
The Swans are desperate to keep him in Wales because he’s that valuable to their team, while Jose Mourinho seems content in letting United club captain Wayne leave for nothing this summer. It kind of proves to me that the two players are on different trajectories in their career path at the moment. Sigurdsson is getting better and better but Rooney’s in decline.
By all means chase after Rooney during this window but I’d only do it if you get Gylfi Sigurdsson first. The Icelandic maestro will, in my opinion, get Everton closer to their top four goal!
Posted on July 7th, 2017 by scott
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