Ronald Koeman has had a good first season at Goodison Park and has taken the team to a new level by improving the output of a really talented but inconsistent player in Romelu Lukaku and incorporated the prodigiously talented Mason Holgate and Tom Davies into the team.
Although Koeman has brought out the best in some of the players, one particular attacker who is still not hitting the right notes consistently is Ross Barkley. The young English attacking midfielder has had an alright season and has amassed 4 goals and an outstanding 10 assists (tied for 4th with Alexis Sanchez) this season, but his patches of bad form have been too long.
Barkley has been touted as the poster-boy for England’s next generation for quite a while now. The 23-year old Everton number 8 is a fine player, but his temperament has always been an issue throughout his career.
His discipline on and off the pitch leaves a lot to be desired, so much so that some managers might even perceive him as a burden in the dressing room. Everton don’t need that character right now. What they do need is a guy who consistently performs week in week out, putting his team first and personal glory behind.
Step forward, Gylfi Sigurdsson. The former Tottenham man who moved back to Swansea in a deal which saw Ben Davies go the other way is exactly what a club like Everton need right now. At 27, he is in his footballing prime and has been a consistent performer in the Premier League for a few seasons now. He is the main man of a Swansea team which over-achieved for the past 4-5 years considering the threadbare squad they have had to make do with.
He is a superstar and although Tottenham wasn’t the club where he fulfilled his potential, Koeman should be optimistic and give him another shot at a bigger club. The Iceland international has 8 goals and 11 assists in a season where Swansea have changed managers three times and have been in the bottom 5 since the beginning. Those are crazy numbers, considering the support he gets in the attack, which at best, can be classified as average.
Were he to move to Everton, Sigurdsson needn’t worry about relegation and could focus entirely on increasing his output in the attacking half. He would be playing with much better players in Romelu Lukaku (although the Belgian has seemingly made his mind about not signing an extension, Everton are sure to land another good striker), Kevin Mirallas, Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman et al.
In signing Sigurdsson, Everton would be signalling their intent to fight on all fronts next season, with their involvement in the Europa league also a much likely factor for Sigurdsson to consider.
The Icelandic star has been directly involved in 19 of the 37 goals scored by his club this season, which is more than 50 percent. That stat itself shows the immense quality of the Nordic playmaker and Everton should snap him up or risk losing him to a rival club. If they can sign players at the peak of their prowess, they can perhaps try a better assault for the top four places next season, something that they have just fallen short of this season.
