OPINION
Everton attacker Gylfi Sigurdsson wowed in the 3-0 win over Cardiff City on Tuesday but Marco Silva’s explanation for the player’s performance must leave fans sceptical.
The Toffees manager claimed that everyone was seeing a different version of the 29-year-old this season as he had given the attacking midfielder a new role in the team.
“You are seeing a different Gylfi Sigurdsson this season – he deserved his goals,” said Silva, as quoted by The Guardian.
“I’m sure next match we will see Gylfi playing with more confidence, apart from his qualities he is always giving everything to the team. This season we have given him a different role.”
There is no denying that Sigurdsson impressed against the Bluebirds on Wednesday as he was his side’s creative spark and was clinical when grabbing his two goals.
Yet Silva’s remarks imply that fans should have been impressed with the attacking midfielder ahead of his latest outing and that shouldn’t be the case.
Sigurdsson has struggled in the majority of his 31 appearances this season and has submitted several displays, such as the one against Millwall, that suggest he should be worried about his first-team status.
Far too often the midfielder has been anonymous in matches and been an expensive passenger for his team to carry through the 90 minutes.
It’s always been known how talented Sigurdsson is, just look at his successful spells at Swansea City, but it has never quite clicked for him at Goodison Park regardless of the role he has been given in the team.
Silva may think he has cracked the code and found a way to make the 29-year-old excel, but his past form, means Everton fans must be sceptical that this is the case.
The attacking midfielder has shown glimpses before, and then submitted an awful display in his next appearance, and Toffees fans shouldn’t be convinced the player has turned the corner just cause of one performance.