Everton playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson has struggled so far this term.
Everton slipped to their first defeat of the season on Friday night, losing 2-0 away at Aston Villa in a dismal showing.
Wesley and Anwar El Ghazi grabbed the goals for the hosts, with Everton’s goalscoring problems again evident at Villa Park.
It’s now just one goal in the first three games of the season for Everton, and even that was a deflected strike from Bernard, leaving fans to wonder about changes.
New striker Moise Kean will surely come in for Dominic Calvert-Lewin soon, whilst Alex Iwobi will be pushing for playing time after a promising cameo against Villa.
One player should be fearing for his place though, and that’s Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Iceland star racked up 13 goals and six assists last season, but his general play is becoming a concern, and Everton may feel they’re not getting value for money given his £100,000-a-week wages (Spotrac).
Too often, Sigurdsson is drifting through games. Usually a creative force, Sigurdsson has managed just five key passes in three games, and fans would expect a little more than that – especially given his ability from set pieces.
Sigurdsson is also guilty of slowing down the pace of Everton’s attacks, with the likes of Bernard and Richarlison able to offer quicker play than Sigurdsson – and Iwobi may well aid that in the number 10 role.
Marco Silva even switched to a 4-4-2 against Villa, and whilst Sigurdsson is pressed into a central midfield role for Iceland, it’s hard to see a role for him in a 4-4-2 in the Premier League due to his lack of mobility.
Silva may soon need to think about a change given that new boy Iwobi could replace him or even play on the left, allowing Bernard to play as the 10, and that all means that 29-year-old Sigurdsson should be fretting a little about his role – and the pressure is on for him to ensure Silva doesn’t have to drop him in the near future.
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