Peter Reid urges Ronald Koeman to play Gylfi Sigurdsson in his correct position

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Everton hero Peter Reid has offered his view on new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Peter Reid

Everton hero Peter Reid has told The Independent that he thinks Gylfi Sigurdsson’s slow start to life at Goodison Park is down to being played out of position.

The Toffees splashed the cash on a host of signings over the summer, as they moved to bring in the likes of Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane and Jordan Pickford, as well as bringing Wayne Rooney back to the club.

However, their biggest deal saw playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson arrive from Swansea City, with BBC Sport reporting that the fee involved for the Iceland international star was £45million; a new club-record for the Toffees.

Sigurdsson starred in his three years with Swansea following a 2014 move from Tottenham Hotspur, and he was their key man last season with nine goals and 13 assists to his name in the Premier League.

After weeks of negotiating with Swansea, Everton finally got their man, though there were some fans who felt the deal was a little pointless, given that manager Ronald Koeman had already brought in Klaassen and Rooney as No. 10’s, and hadn’t signed a striker to replace Romelu Lukaku.

So far, Sigurdsson hasn’t come close to living up to his billing. Whilst he scored a stunning long-range goal against Hajduk Split in August, Sigurdsson has yet to really hit top form, turning in a number of below-par displays.

Fans are worried about the club’s record signing, and club hero Peter Reid has told The Independent that he thinks the problem is because Koeman continues to use Sigurdsson on the left of midfield.

Reid feels that Koeman needs to playing centrally, and having paid so much money for him, they need to play him in his best position – and he also called on Everton to sign a new striker when the January transfer window opens having lost Lukaku.

“I don’t think that at Swansea, Sigurdsson played left side,” said Reid. “He was at the hub and, without being too critical of Mr Koeman, if I am buying a player for £45m, I want him to play in his position.”

“There was optimism but now we have seven points. When you spend £140m and lose your top goalscorer – who to be fair I never saw in big games – you have to get a striker in,” he added.