Former Everton midfielder Pat Nevin has drooled over Gylfi Sigurdsson while backing him to bring the best out of the club’s attacking talent.
He thinks that the 29-year-old is the type of player who a team can be built around, but he was also full of praise for his hard-working nature and ability to be creative.
The midfield maestro was signed in 2017 has already netted two goals this season, with one coming in the Carabao Cup win over Rotherham, and the second coming in the 3-1 loss to West Ham United last Sunday.
“I think he is a spectacularly special player that you can build your team around. His vision is outstanding. When you’re watching the game, and if you’re a creative-type player like I was myself, you see the passes that should be played,” he told the club’s website.
“He won’t leave the ball short, he’ll position it right. He has that gift of spacial awareness. He’s got the vision to see the pass and the skill to execute it. It is the dream scenario, really, for him to be playing with the likes of Richarlison, Walcott and Bernard.
“What he needs is attacking players making intelligent runs because he will find them. And I think if Cenk Tosun keeps making the type of runs he is doing, then goals will come for him, too.
“The good thing for players like Tosun and the other forward players is – when they now they have someone of Sigurdsson’s ability in the side – they will make those runs more often and the ball will land at their feet. I think people enjoy playing with Sigurdsson. Nobody can look at him and think ‘you’re not putting the effort in.”
OPINION
Even though Everton slumped to a disappointing defeat at the hands of the Hammers on Sunday, Nevin could not be far wrong in his praise of Sigurdsson. Apart from Richarlison, he is clearly one of their stand out players, and he will prove pivotal to their fate this season. In the loss to West Ham, he was their best player on the pitch – and he looked like the only one who was willing to make an effort that day. His goal back then just about sums up his quality, which was the only redeemable feature about the Toffees after their dire display – and it would not be surprising to see him attract attention come the January transfer window. Everton fans will have their fingers crossed that he remains at Goodison Park for the forseeable future – and that he continues to make the same sort of impact that he has already been making on their season so far.