Former England international Kevin Phillips believes that Everton will struggle to recoup much of the transfer fee they paid Swansea for Gylfi Sigurdsson, talking to Football Insider.
The 30-year old joined the Toffees from the the South Wales side in 2017 for £45million (BBC Sport), and despite having scored 13 Premier League goals in his second season, many fans have perceived him to have little impact for the Blues.
Football Insider reported earlier this month that Carlo Ancelotti had been left disappointed by Sigurdsson, and having deemed him to be surplus to requirements, was ready to listen to offers for the Iceland international this month.
Speaking to Football Insider though, former Premier League Golden Boot winner Phillips believes that Everton will struggle to find someone who can pay a reasonable price to land Sigurdsson. Phillips said:
He’s a good player but he’s obviously come for a very big price. It was £50 million, wasn’t it? That surprised a lot of people and it surprised me if I’m honest.
I thought they paid way over the top but he’s never really lived up to that price tag so, could you potentially get him off the wage bill that frees up some cash for Ancelotti to go and spend elsewhere?
It’s always difficult because who’s going to pay? They’re never going to get £50million for him so it’ll be interesting to see how that one unfolds.
Read Everton Verdict
Everton are certainly still suffering from overspending under previous regimes, and while I didn’t think that £45million for Sigurdsson was too much at the time, it is difficult now to see how Everton will recoup that back or even encourages someone to take on the playmaker’s wages.
Sigurdsson has scored just one goal in 21 Premier League appearances this season, assisting just once too (Transfermarkt), and when both Andre Gomes and JP Gbamin are passed fit to feature again it is hard to see where Sigurdsson fits in.
The Iceland international has assisted just 13 goals in 98 games for Everton, and for a player of his calibre who has been so relied upon to be the creative spark for the Blues, that simply isn’t good enough to warrant Everton retaining his services.
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