When Everton signed Iceland international Gylfi Sigurðsson from Swansea in the summer of 2017, there was always going to be mixed opinion.
The midfielder had been a star player not only for the Swans, but in the Premier League over the past few seasons and was highly thought of. A very skilful footballer with the ball at his feet, he was a very accomplished playmaker in the final third of the pitch who was lethal at set pieces and was renowned to chip in with a goal or two.
However, being the club’s record signing at the time is always going to put pressure on the player to perform. The club had just received a bumper payday from the departure of Romelu Lukaku and therefore even more pressure was perhaps put on Sigurðsson to perform
Nonetheless, a lot of fans were still happy to see him arrive, although though there were a few who were sceptical due to the price.
This is what the fans have to say:
What a signing
— P™ (@SemperFiArsenal) August 16, 2017
Get in! Welcome, Gylfi!
— Minnesota Toffees (@MNToffees) August 16, 2017
oh yes gylfi congrats. big fan. hope you do well under @RonaldKoeman the legend.#WelcomeGylfi
— Aneesh Chandoke (@AneeshChandoke) August 16, 2017
Excited to #WelcomeGylfi back to Goodison, he can be the difference to the push for the top four this year!
— Daniel Lee (@danny_lee_tweet) August 17, 2017
Good signing
— Emma Stone PT Arsenal (@EmmaStonePT) August 17, 2017
Pricey like but should be a good signing. More options going forward. Still need a centre forward and centre half…
— Michael Harrison (@michaelh1985678) August 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/19sambit98/status/898162347834880001
What a great signing
— Jonathan Da Silva (@Jonty82Dsilva) August 17, 2017
@elliotblight This makes Pogba look like pocket change
— Sam Blight (@BlightSam_) August 17, 2017
Finally this guy is so underrated, Far to good to be playing for Swansea always wanted to see how he will do at a different club. GoodLuck!!
— Ryan Bass (@RyannBass97) August 17, 2017
It was a turbulent first season at Goodison Park for the midfielder. He featured 27 times in the league for The Toffees, scoring four goals and managing three assists. It wasn’t a fantastic campaign, then again it wasn’t for the whole Everton squad.
The departure of Ronald Koeman saw Sam Allardyce take over at the club midway through the season which maybe wasn’t conducive to getting the best out of the Icelandic international. His season was cut short with injury and he only just made it back in time for the World Cup.
However, this season the player looks revitalised, already scoring five goals in 10 games under new manager Marco Silva. It promises to be a very fruitful season for the former Swansea man.
Although he will always come under scrutiny because of his price, he is starting to prove that he was worth every last penny.
