In-form midfielder to be offered new Everton contract – report
Everton are looking to offer Gylfi Sigurdsson a new contract following his impressive run in the first-team, according to the Daily Mail.
After starting the last six games for the Toffees, and scoring the winner in 1-0 wins against Chelsea and Sheffield United in December, Sigurdsson looks to have sufficiently impressed manager Carlo Ancelotti and director of football Marcel Brands, after only starting four of Everton’s first 11 Premier League games.
Sigurdsson has stepped up in the absence of James Rodriguez, who missed five matches before he made his return in the 1-0 defeat to West Ham on Friday.
As such, the Daily Mail have reported, “Everton are considering a new contract for midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson.
“The £40m signing from Swansea City looked to be on his way out following the arrival and form of James Rodríguez but has played his way back into Carlo Ancelotti’s plans at Goodison [Park].”
According to TransferMarkt, Sigurdsson’s existing deal runs until June 30 2022, so there is no immediate necessity for the contract to be re-negotiated, but Everton are clearly keen to tie down an experienced midfielder who they believe has shown his worth to the team.
Does Sigurdsson deserve a new deal?
He is a player that has divided opinion at Goodison Park, and the dissenting voices grew louder at the start of the season, but Sigurdsson’s recent form seems to have persuaded one or two fans that he can have an impact in this Everton team.
However, at 31-years-old and with his contract running out in June 2022, it seems a strange move by Everton to look to offer the Iceland midfielder a new deal already.
Given his age and wages, handing a new contract to Sigurdsson hardly increases his market value by a substantial amount, and could actually lead to difficulties should Everton look to move him on at any point in the next couple of years.
He has shown himself to be a valuable asset to the squad this season with two goals and two assists in the Premier League, but if Everton are to push on and assert themselves as perennial challengers for the European spots and above, they need to look higher in their quest for strength in depth.
Players of Sigurdsson’s ilk are considered to be a luxury given the modern demands of a midfielder in the Premier League, with his defensive contributions summed up in his tackles per game record of 0.9 (per WhoScored), the third lowest in the Everton squad of players with at least 800 Premier League minutes this season.
Given that they already possess a creator in Rodriguez, Everton must seriously consider whether they need to keep a similar player on the books, especially one who is older.
A wiser suggestion might be to start looking for alternatives in the summer transfer window, and bring in a younger, more dynamic player who can bring some energy to the Everton midfield.
In other Everton news, our view on Alex Iwobi’s creative importance to the side.