Gylfi Sigurdsson claims he and Wayne Rooney want to prove Sam Allardyce wrong

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Gylfi Sigurdsson scored as Everton beat Crystal Palace 3-1 on Saturday.

Everton midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson has told the Daily Mail that he and Wayne Rooney both want to prove Sam Allardyce wrong, after he suggested that the pair cannot play in the same team together.

The Toffees beat Crystal Palace 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, with Sigurdsson, Oumar Niasse and Tom Davies all getting on the scoresheet before Luka Milivojevic pulled back a consolation goal.

Allardyce’s men turned in a solid performance after their hammering at Arsenal, but Big Sam still has questions to answer from Everton fans, and he is still working out his best Toffees side after the end of the transfer window.

For instance, Allardyce has been attempting to find the best role for midfielder Sigurdsson, who was Ronald Koeman’s major signing over the summer having joined from Swansea City in a club-record £45million deal (The Guardian).

Primarily a No. 10, Sigurdsson has often been deployed on the left wing by Everton, and whilst that hasn’t always been natural for the Icelandic international, he did thrive there against Palace on Saturday.

Allardyce’s decision to play him there largely comes down to his belief that Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney struggle to play in the same team, as they are both creative players who occupy similar positions and have similar skillsets.

Both players featured against Palace though, with Rooney in a deep midfield role and Sigurdsson on the left, handing Allardyce a 3-1 victory, and that could continue moving forward.

Now, Sigurdsson has told the Daily Mail that he and Rooney want to prove Allardyce wrong, and show that they can play in the same team, highlighting that he finds it ‘natural’ to play alongside Rooney.

“I think since he said that we won the last couple of games that we played,” said Sigurdsson. “We did speak about it and had a little laugh about it. It was down to us to work on it and prove him wrong. I think we have a good understanding and we are easy to play with. I think it just comes natural, I feel very good playing with him and I hope he feels the same way,” he added.