Everton unveils Sigurdsson for club-record fee worth reported £45M
Everton is now the third-highest spending team in the Premier League this summer after completing the capture of Gylfi Sigurdsson from Swansea City on Wednesday.
Judging from reported fees, Sigurdsson's club-record £45-million move to Merseyside edges the Toffees ahead of Chelsea in gross spend, but they remain behind the respective exorbitant splurges from Manchester City and Manchester United.
The 27-year-old signed a five-year contract with Everton. Manager Ronald Koeman hinted at a potential debut for the midfielder when revealing Sigurdsson had passed his medical.
"I will talk to Gylfi this afternoon. He will not be involved tomorrow (against Hajduk Split). Maybe for Monday (at Manchester City). Let's wait and see how the fitness is," Koeman said on Wednesday, as reported by Sky Sports.
"We worked a long time to get this deal in and he was one of the key players to bring in. We knew would lose (Romelu) Lukaku for this season and we need players who bring productivity to the team.
8 - Gylfi Sigurdsson assisted a league-high eight goals direct from dead ball scenarios last season in the @premierleague. Specialist. pic.twitter.com/Q9A7XkZet3
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 16, 2017
"He is the type of player with a lot of productivity. In my opinion he is one of the best in the Premier League."
The Icelander was an integral part of Swansea retaining its Premier League status last season. Sigurdsson covered more ground than any other player in the top flight, and either scored or assisted in 49 percent of the club's goals. He's an expert in dead-ball situations, and will likely share free-kick duties with the left-footed Leighton Baines.
He links up with a new-look Everton side which has now welcomed eight names to Goodison Park in the window, with Davy Klaassen, Sandro Ramirez, and returned local lad Wayne Rooney immediately strengthening the attack-minded contingent. Sigurdsson's arrival leaves Koeman with an appetising conundrum in how to field all of the newcomers in a balanced system.
In Saturday's Premier League season-opening 1-0 defeat of Stoke City, the Dutch handler opted for a 3-4-2-1, but Sigurdsson has been predominantly deployed on either side of the three attacking midfield positions in a 4-2-3-1 setup at Swansea.
With Sigurdsson aboard, Koeman, a man educated by Johan Cruyff through his playing days working under him at Ajax and Barcelona, now has license to exert some true tactical versatility with Everton.