Journalist Stephen Doyle has recently criticised Everton midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson for his performances for the Goodison Park-based club.
Doyle was a guest on the latest episode of the OTB Football Podcast and the panel discussed many issues surrounding European football. They also discussed Everton and the club’s signing of Colombian playmaker James Rodriguez. This led to Doyle criticising Sigurdsson and he believes that Rodriguez can provide competition to the Icelandic midfielder.
Rodriguez has joined Everton from Real Madrid on a two-year contract and there is also an option for a further year. Sigurdsson meanwhile, has been at the club since the summer of 2017 when he joined the club from Swansea City.
Doyle believes that Rodriguez will provide competition to Sigurdsson, who he describes to be ‘one of the most underperforming players’ at Everton.
He said: “The big thing for Rodriguez is he’s going to give competition to one of the most underperforming players at Everton – Gylfi Sigurdsson. That man just frustrates me so much.
Is Sigurdsson the most underperforming player at Everton?
Yes
No
“He’s such a talented player, but I’ve been at Goodison Park, I’ve done games there and my god, he would frustrate the hell out of you. Because one thing Everton supporters, all they ask for from their players is that give 100%, they like combative players that get stuck in and really get in the face of the opposition. That’s one thing that Gylfi Sigurdsson doesn’t do.
“He can tend to go [to] sleep for games – 10, 20-minute spells. He’s such a talent, we know what he can do [with] regards to his creative play.”
TIF Thoughts…
Sigurdsson, currently 31, made 35 appearances in the Premier League last season, where he could score only two goals and bag three assists. As a result, he picked up a rating of 6.65/10 in the league (as per WhoScored).
The 2018/19 campaign was much better though, as the Icelandic midfielder contributed to 19 goals in 38 Premier League appearances. He picked a pretty good rating of 7.16 that season (as per Whoscored).
This shows that Sigurdsson is certainly a very capable player and while last season wasn’t too impressive, he has shown his abilities in the past. If he can replicate his performances from the 2018/19 season, Doyle might be much more convinced about the 31-year-old midfielder’s abilities, despite competition arriving in the shape of Rodriguez.