On Tuesday, Burnley made their first foray into the summer transfer market after confirming the signing of midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson from Charlton Athletic.
The Iceland international put pen to paper on a three-year contract, with the option of another 12 months, and joins for a reported £2.5 million.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Gudmundsson is relishing the prospect of stepping up to the Premier League:
“The atmosphere around the club is fantastic and playing against the team last season I saw just how good the club was – I definitely wanted to join. The team spirit in the Iceland team seems to be similar to here where everybody is working for each other and it’s a tight group…I’ve played in big games in the Europa League and with Iceland so that’s definitely going to help me when I play for the first time in the Premier League. Experience is everything and I have quite a bit of that so I’ll be fine I think.”
The History
Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Gudmundsson came through the ranks at Breiðablik, joining the club at the age of seven, before spending brief spells with Chelsea and Fulham as a teenager while studying at the International School of London.
He returned to Breiðablik in 2007 as a 17-year-old to start his professional career, establishing himself as a first-team regular during 2008.
After a move to German side Hamburg fell through in September 2008, Gudmundsson eventually moved to Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar in January 2009. The winger spent five years in Holland, clocking up 172 appearances for AZ in all competitions, scoring 25 goals and registering 15 assists, before joining Charlton in the summer of 2014.
In his first season with the Addicks, Gudmundsson enjoyed a very successful campaign, scoring 10 goals and racking up four assists in 41 league matches, while in a side that got relegated from the Championship last term, the Icelander scored six goals and provided 11 assists in 40 league appearances.
Having played for Iceland at both Under 19 and Under 21 levels, scoring an impressive seven goals in 16 matches, Gudmundsson made his senior debut in a 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan in August 2008. The 25-year-old now has 51 caps and four goals to his name, while he started in all five of Iceland’s matches in Euro 2016 as they reached the quarter-finals.
The Prospects
With Burnley boss Sean Dyche a firm believer in the 4-4-2 formation, it’s expected that Gudmundsson will be a strong contender to start on the right of a four-man midfield for the Clarets.
That was a position occupied by George Boyd for the majority of last season, but with Joey Barton moving to Rangers in the summer, Boyd could shift over to the left flank, with Scott Arfield moving from the flank into central midfield alongside David Jones. The versatile Gudmundsson is capable of playing on the left wing, though, and has, on occasion, also been utilised in a central attacking midfield position, so looks likely to nail down a regular role regardless.
Given Boyd and Arfield are priced at 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), it’s expected that Gudmundsson will be handed the same valuation once added to the game.
Looking at the trio’s underlying statistics from last season, Gudmundsson averaged a shot attempt every 36.1 minutes, which was far better than both Arfield (67) and Boyd (71.6). The Iceland international also held a significant edge in terms of assist potential, producing a key pass every 43.1 minutes, compared to every 85.9 and 93.6 minutes for Arfield and Boyd respectively. Given the Icelander played for a side who were relegated, while the Burnley pair helped their team win the Championship, the statistics are all the more impressive for the former Charlton player.
If, as expected, Gudmundsson nails down a starting berth, the underlying numbers certainly suggest he may well emerge as the strongest option from the Burnley midfield. This could be beneficial from a Fantasy point of view as Dyche prefers consistency of selection and has rarely tinkered with his starting XI over the past two seasons.
Burnley’s opening fixtures (SWA, LIV, che, HUL) are also very favourable, so the option to include a Clarets attacker in our initial 15-man squads appears tempting. Forward Andre Gray will likely attract the most investment given he was the top scorer in the Championship last season with 23 goals, but he will set us back 6.5 in FPL.
What may well be the deciding factor is whether Gudmundsson can wrestle some set-piece duties off Jones. The former Wolves midfielder is unlikely to gain much interest priced at 5.0 in FPL given he only scored once last season and if Gudmundsson acquires a fair share of free-kick and corners, he could potentially push himself towards the front of the budget midfielders queue.
Further Reference
Johann Berg Gudmundsson Wikipedia
