Swansea boss Garry Monk continued his impressive summer shopping spree earlier this week with the acquisition of Gylfi Sigurdsson from Tottenham. The 24-year-old arrives at the Liberty on a four-year contract and rejoins the club just a couple of years after starring on loan during the latter part of 2011/12:
The Icelandic international is Monk’s fifth signing of the clos-season, following Lukas Fabianski, Bafetimbi Gomis, Stephen Kingsley and Marvin Emnes to the club as Monk puts his own stamp on the team after taking over from Michael Laudrup midway through last season. Speaking to the club’s official website, Sigurdsson was delighted to cement his return to the Liberty:
“It’s fantastic for me. I really enjoyed the last time I was here, so it’s good to be back. I was here for four months and I have a lot of good memories. Hopefully this time it will be even better. I really enjoyed my time at Spurs. It was tough leaving a club that I’ve enjoyed playing for over the last few years, but as soon as Swansea came in it was an easy decision to make…I want to at least match the tally I scored the last time I was on loan, but first and foremost it’s about the team. The main target is to stay in the league and push on and get back into the Europa League. Those are the goals I want to achieve.”
The History
As a youngster, Sigurdsson was on the books of hometown team FH and later joined Breiðablik before being snapped up by the Reading youth system in October 2005. Handed his debut three years later, he was subsequently loaned out to Shrewsbury Town (one goal from 12 appearances) and Crewe Alexandra (three goals from 15 matches) before a standout season in the Championship for his parent club produced 16 goals and nine assists in 2009/10.
After starting the following campaign with a couple of goals and assists in four matches for The Royals, Sigurdsson was purchased by German outfit Hoffenheim prior to the closure of the summer transfer window. Despite a reasonable 10 goals and four assists in 39 appearances, the playmaker fell out of favour and was farmed out to Swansea midway through 2011/12. Handed the role behind a lone striker by then-manager Brendan Rodgers, the Icelandic international served up seven goals and five assists in 18 league appearances and quickly became one of the most popular midfielders across the Fantasy games.
A move to Tottenham quickly killed off his potential, though. Andre Villas-Boas’ first signing after taking the hotseat, Sigurdsson was handed a mere 26 league starts over his two seasons at the Lane, with a further 32 appearances off the bench. Mainly utilised in an out-of-position wide berth, he mustered a mere eight goals and five assists and drifted onto the Fantasy periphery at the north London club.
On the international scene, Sigurdsson made his debut for Iceland back in 2010 and has made 23 appearances, scoring on five occasions.
The Prospects
Sigurdsson’s return to Swansea brings him immediately into consideration as a mid-price Fantasy prospect. His toils at Tottenham over the past two years have ensured the 24-year-old is a relatively budget-friendly option across the games, available for 6.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and 6.4 in the Sky Sports game – bearing in mind his previous stint in Wales averaged 5.7 FPL points per game for the Swans, many will be prepared to take a punt.
With Wilfried Bony’s future undecided and new boy Bafetimbi Gomis unproven in the Premier League, Sigurdsson looks set to offer a security of starts and, crucially, unlike many new signings, will need no time to settle in such familiar surroundings. Set to reprise the role in “the hole” behind a lone striker, Sigurdsson is also likely to take on set-piece and corners for Monk’s evolving side.
His appeal is furthered by five very favourable matches in the first seven rounds of fixtures. Burnley, West Brom, Southampton and Newcastle all pay visit during that period and with a trip to Sunderland also scheduled, this run more atones for visits to United and Chelsea in Gameweeks 1 and 4. Swansea are one of only four teams to offer back-to-back home matches over Gameweeks 2 and 3 and if the 24-year-old delivers against Burnley and the Baggies, a price hike over the first international break looks on the cards.
One look at the attacking statistics under the new manager also bodes well for the Welsh club in the season ahead. Swansea managed 25 goals in 14 matches under Monk (1.8 per game) compared to 29 in 24 (1.2) fixtures with Laudrup at the helm. Indeed, from the point where Monk took over in Gameweek 25, only the top three, Liverpool (43), City (34) and Chelsea (27) scored more times than Swansea.
Further analysis of Sigurdsson’s first spell in Swansea underlines the playmaker’s potential. Upon his arrival, the 24-year-old produced 50 key passes from Gameweek 21 onwards – second only to Luka Modric’s 54 amongst midfielders – whilst he was also second for attempts on goal; only Gareth Bale (76) fired more efforts than the Icelandic international’s 71. If he can find that form once again, we could have a real bargain on our hands.
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